Table of Contents
Deadly Air
A resident of the Oakland Livingston County region with multiple sclerosis learned from a home inspector that her furnace was leaking deadly carbon monoxide. With limited resources and the “Stay at Home” order in place, every breath she took threatened her life.
In response, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and local parishes offered to help cover the cost of a new furnace for the resident, and the installer offered to reduce his charge. A new 96% energy efficient furnace was purchased and installed. Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency applied for a $2,000 Consumer’s Energy rebate on the furnace and remaining costs, just $325, were covered by the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency’s Energy Waste Reduction program.
Transportation
In a state that all but eliminated efficient public transportation over the past 50 years, lack of a dependable car impacts everything from being able to get an education and being on-time for work to having access to health care, child care and healthy food. People who used bus transportation before COVID became isolated and often couldn’t get where they needed to go when public transportation was temporarily halted. Workers laid off for months describe having to use savings to buy food or pay rent when they otherwise might have been able to use it for car repairs.
Kerry Baughman, Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency, recalls hearing about a child who was absent from school for several days. When a staff member reached out to the family, they learned there was a problem with their car battery, which worked only occasionally. Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency was able to help so the family had dependable transportation, and the child resumed going to school. “Sometimes,” says Kerry, “the problem is as simple as trying to get the car to turn over every day.”
