Weatherization blitz to benefit 25 Louisiana families in one day

The Ginger Ford Northshore Fuller Center for Housing in Hammond, La., will be putting a $25,000 grant from Entergy Louisiana to work on Thursday as it partners with Quad Area Community Action Agency and the City of Hammond to make 25 homes more energy-efficient in the low-income neighborhoods of Lincoln Park, Rose Hill Park and Mooney Avenue.

Ginger Ford Northshore acting director Tamara Danel said it will be a good way for the Fuller Center covenant partner to gain further exposure in the city of Hammond and strengthen ties with the Entergy employees, Quad Area Weatherization employees, Youth Build students and city officials who will join Ginger Ford Northshore’s volunteers in this one-day effort.

“We’ll be exposing Ginger Ford Northshore to the community once again and letting the low-income families know what we do and how we do it,” Danel said. “Some of these families may want to apply for a new house at some point in the future, so as they get exposed to the Fuller Center model and mission, then hopefully we’ll get some candidate for new houses. I know we’ll get some candidates for more Greater Blessing projects.”

But awareness is merely a byproduct of the work that will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday.

“A lot of these families live in just miserable conditions,” Danel said. “It’s really important because a lot of these families just live with window units or box fans and don’t have central heat and air, so one of the things we’ll be doing is delivering some window units to some families who don’t have any kind of heat or air in their homes. So we’ll be helping them tighten up their houses to reduce their monthly utility bills, reducing air flow and at the same time educating them about things they can do to save monthly expenses.”

“I think the benefits will be two-fold,” said Lamar Marshall, who represents District 4 on the Hammond City Council. “The project will help many families to make home repairs when they otherwise would not have the funds to do so, and it will bring attention to the daily struggles of people living in poverty to many others who have forgotten or never realized the effects of poverty.”

Partner organizations will join Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana President and CEO Bill Mohl and officials from the City of Hammond and other local community and civic leaders at the opening ceremony at Lincoln Park Baptist Church, 2707 Garner St. in Hammond, at 8:45 a.m. and also at the project site throughout the day.

“This project is a great example of what can be accomplished when business and service organizations work together to make a positive impact on those in need,” Danel said.

For more information, visit Ginger Ford Northshore’s Facebook page.