By Annika Morschauser
Contributing Writer
BROWN COUNTY – Colder weather is just around the corner, meaning furnaces will be firing up soon.
In preparation for the fall and winter months, the Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) has opened applications for this year’s “Project Heats On.”
Project Heats On is an annual event that has been running in Brown County for 31 years.
ADRC partners with Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 400 to provide volunteers to check and change furnace filters, change batteries in smoke detectors and assure that carbon monoxide detectors work properly.
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 400 “provide training for our members and qualified manpower to our 105 signatory contractors for all aspects of the plumbing, pipe fitting, HVACR service and pipe fabrication industries,” as their website states.
“This group makes this entire event possible… Many happy people are thankful for the help they received from Local 400,” explained Angela Van Asten, ADRC office assistant.
Thirty homeowners will be helped this year, after applicants will be checked for eligibility.
“The program is for low-income homeowners who are age 60 plus and adults under 60 who are receiving disability income. Homes must be single family residences, lived in by the homeowner and not up for sale,” Van Asten stated.
In addition to those requirements, the furnace must be 10 or more years old, not checked within the past two years and the applicant must not have participated in the previous year’s Project Heats On.
These requirements ensure that help is given to those in need.
The event itself will take place on a yet-to-be-determined Saturday in either September or October.
On the day of the event, volunteers will meet at 8:30 a.m. to receive their house assignments and are sent off to complete their inspections.
Homeowners are required to be present during the inspection; the event runs until noon.
Previous years’ events have received positive feedback from homeowners which highlights the importance of Project Heats On in the community.
“ADRC is a nonprofit organization that empowers and enriches the lives of older adults, adults with disabilities and their caregivers by providing advocacy, information and access to services and opportunities that support their independence and individual choice,” Van Asten said.
For more information, call (920)-448-4300 or visit the ADRC, 300 S. Adams St., Green Bay.
Applications are due by Aug. 25.