Keeping Cully Residents in their Homes: Cully Weatherization and Home Repair 2.0

Cully Weatherization and Home Repair 2.0, worked with 14  low-income homeowners over the past year to provide critical home repairs and weatherization services. The program, a collaboration between Living Cully, NAYA, and Enhabit, works to add value to Living Cully’s collective impact on the neighborhood by helping prevent involuntary displacement of low-income homeowners from Cully, increase health outcomes and address equity.  Of the 14 homeowners that were a part of the program over the last year, they were majority low-income and people of color, 71% female, 70% elderly, and 50% disabled–those most vulnerable to housing instability. On average clients had lived in Cully for 10+ years. The project also contracted 100% women and minority contractors to do the repairs. This first “pilot” project set the groundwork for a broader vision: to provide home repair and no to low cost energy efficiency upgrades to 100 low-income homeowners in single family homes over a 2-4 year period.

Homeowner profile: Cornelia Montgomery (pictured) came to Cully Wx 2.0 as a direct referral from the City of Portland’s Lead Hazard Control Program.  As someone who has already been displaced once (a former Irvington resident) she would love to stay in Cully as long as her health permits. The Lead Hazard Control program was able to replace windows throughout the house, remove lead and asbestos, and address sewer and ventilation issues she had in her basement, thus making it a healthier environment for her elderly brother who currently resides there.  Unfortunately the home has been the target of multiple break-in attempts so upgrading the window screens and installing a new back door and dead bolt addressed her safety concerns.

Follow this link to read the full program report. Interested in home repair or weatherization? Send an email to: cully2@Nayapdx.org.