NeighborWorks of Northeastern Pennsylvania (NWNEPA), a community development organization that provides aging-in-place and homeownership support to residents in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, utilizes the commonwealth’s Whole Home Repairs Program to help families pay for essential repairs. 

In early February, NWNEPA received a call from a family reporting a lack of heat in their home. The organization sent a plumbing and heating specialist to their home to examine the issue and determined a full replacement was necessary. While there, the specialist also noticed that the family’s carbon monoxide detector was going off, and the Scranton Fire Department and UGI Utilities were sent to the home. The carbon monoxide was escaping from a crack in the furnace, creating an unsafe environment for the family. 

NWNEPA utilized available Whole Home Repair funds to pay for the installation of a new furnace within five days, alleviating the dangerous leak and likely preventing more costly repairs. 

Whole Home Repair funds made the difference for this family and for so many others across the commonwealth. An increased investment of $50 million for this program would fill a critical need that’s only continuing to grow as the housing stock in the state ages. 

With more funding, organizations like ours can do more to help families every year.

Shane Powers
President/CEO of NeighborWorks NEPA
Scranton, PA