PHOENIX (AZFamily) — More than 600 people died from the heat last summer in Maricopa County, and the Valley is on track to surpass that number this summer.
Now, federal funding cuts are forcing one nonprofit to shut down a program that’s kept thousands of residents safe and cool inside their own homes for over 50 years’ worth of hot Phoenix summers.
Inside Beverly Peters’ home in Sun City West, there was a constant battle against the heat. But this year, her home got a lifeline. “They redid all of the attic insulation. They took out everything that I had for the evaporated cooler,” she explained.
Free repairs from AllThrive365’s weatherization program. “The house is cooler, it stays cooler longer, and I’ve already gotten a decrease in my electric bill, and it’s not even been a month,” she expressed.
At 79, Beverly has weathered more than just Arizona summers. She’s living with asthma, COPD, and two types of cancer. “Oh my god, I could never ever, ever afford to do this, but it has reduced my electric bill.”
However, recent federal funding cuts have forced the nonprofit to shut down the program. “We are not taking any applications just due to funding cuts, but we’re hoping to change that and get some funding in and open up services. We have a wait list of over 500 people right now for this program,” said Katie Martin with AllThrive365.
She estimates nearly 20,000 low-income and senior Valley residents will now be left without help. “We can help people save on their energy bills. There are proven stats that show that we have health impacts to the work that we do as well,” Martin stated.
For many, this program meant survival in a state where triple-digit days and near-triple-digit nights are becoming the norm.
“We are so happy that we were able to serve Beverly with the weatherization program, but she might be the last person that we serve using my heat funds if they are not renewed,” Martin explained.
And with summer still far from over, Beverly knows she’s one of the lucky ones. “That’s scary. That’s sad. These are our families. We need to help us. We need to help them,” she said.
AllThrive365 states that it’s seeking new funding sources to revive the program, but there’s no timeline for when this could occur.
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