Dec. 5, 2012: New Website to Connect Low-Income Families with Home Safety, Efficiency Services
WASHINGTON — The National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), launched a new website, WxPlusHealth.org, to connect low-income families with services and funding to reduce their homes’ health hazards and energy costs. The site provides online tools for the network of service providers, vendors, and community services agencies that comprise the Weatherization Plus Health initiative ― a nationwide effort to improve the health, safety, and energy efficiency of homes for low-income families.
NASCSP and DOE said WxPlusHealth.org brings together two complementary but otherwise isolated federal programs to improve the effectiveness of both. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) helps lower home energy costs, while the healthy homes initiative seeks to mitigate the health hazards associated with substandard housing. Both efforts require a similar set of services and the home improvements that both provide can be done more efficiently in coordination.