Cuts by state would hurt Community Action’s weatherization program that provides many critical services

Editor:

New York’s most vulnerable residents – including many right here in Orleans and Genesee counties – are at risk because of a quiet but deeply concerning budget decision.

Across the state, Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) providers are raising the alarm about proposed funding cuts, and Community Action of Orleans and Genesee is no exception.

Weatherization is far more than insulation and air sealing. Our team of eight walks into homes every day and finds serious safety issues that don’t show up on spreadsheets—homes without ceilings, exposed electrical hazards, kitchens without ventilation that force families to disconnect smoke detectors just to get through the day. The work we do prevents tragedies, reduces energy costs permanently, and helps neighbors live in safe, healthy homes.

Yet the Governor’s budget removes 10% of the HEAP funding traditionally dedicated to WAP. For agencies like ours, that 10% represents up to 60% of the operating budget that keeps these programs running. The impact would be immediate and painful: fewer homes served, fewer families able to afford heat, and potential layoffs for the skilled workers who deliver these essential services.

Our Weatherization team assists between 50 and 100 families each year, and we currently have a waitlist of 200 households—200 families who are already waiting for help. In a climate like ours, where winter hits hard and heating costs keep climbing, we simply cannot turn our backs on them.

WAP is one of New York’s most effective tools for lowering energy costs while improving health and safety. Cutting it undermines affordability, community stability, and long term energy goals.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve taken this message directly to Albany and Washington, D.C., because our families deserve to be heard. Now we need your voice too. Please contact your elected officials before the April 1 budget deadline and urge them to restore this critical funding.

Our communities cannot afford to lose a program that delivers real savings, real safety, and real impact.

Renee M. Hungerford

Executive Director/CEO

Community Action of Orleans and Genesee