Grassroots Green Homes is a place-based home performance program designed to increase home efficiency and health while also changing occupant behavior. The program harnesses the power of neighbor-to-neighbor interaction by engaging community members through neighborhood liaisons, called Energy Coaches, and brings together energy efficiency experts, contractors, and residents—sparking actions to save energy, money, and carbon.
Beyond the traditional weatherization strategies and upgrades, Grassroots Green Homes also focuses on improving awareness and connections to resources to address health concerns such as lead, mold and radon. Learn more about our work tied to home health on our Advocacy page.
Neighborhoods Served:
Oakland and Uptown - CCI has received funding from McAuley Ministries to continue engagement started during the pilot round of GGH in Pittsburgh’s Oakland and Uptown neighborhoods. The initial round kicked off in May 2016, serving over 300 homeowners and renters in the community. This round layered funding and resources from our partners: GTECH Strategies, Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh, Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, Peoples Natural Gas Company, Duquesne Light Company, Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, The R.K. Mellon Foundation, and The Heinz Endowments. This continued engagement, currently underway in Uptown and West Oakland, focuses on providing 20 additional energy and home health audits, as well as support and consultations for individual community residents, and community education events with our partners.
Central Northside - CCI kicked off this round of GGH in February 2017 in collaboration with Allegheny City Central Association. Making use of a community block grant, CCI hopes to provide energy and health assessments, as well as weatherization work, to 20 homes in the neighborhood and provide education through community events.
Homewood - CCI received a generous grant from the PA Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) to pursue a round of GGH in Homewood, launching spring 2018. We are currently registering participants for a 300-home community energy-saving challenge and a targeted "Home Boost," which involves energy and health improvements for 20 homes in the community. The program is fortunate to have the support and partnership of Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, Operation Better Block, Homewood Children's Village, the Sierra Club, Duquesne Light Company, and Peoples Natural Gas Company, and others in this venture.
Healthy Homes Incentive Program
The Healthy Homes Incentive Program has been transferred from GTECH Strategies to CCI as of Spring 2017. This assistance program provides support to homeowners who are undertaking energy efficiency projects in their homes by offsetting a portion of the costs. CCI plans to align the efforts of this program with those of Grassroots Green Homes in addressing home health and weatherization in a holistic way.
