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Federal stimulus money having Mid-Michigan impact

Saturday, July 11, 2009

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local, dawn jones

MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) -- (07/08/09)--The impact of federal stimulus dollars is being felt in Mid-Michigan.

The Genesee County Community Action Resource Department (GCARD) weatherization program has hired more than two dozen new employees and expects to triple the number of homeowners they will be able to help this year.

The Obama administration just recently announced plans to give Michigan more than $97 million for weatherization programs in the state.

Matt Purcell is the director of the weatherization program at GCARD.

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"We use to serve about 200 homes a year," he said. "Now we serve about 600 homes a year."

"I had no one to help me my son had moved away and it was just me in this house and could not physically do the labor myself and I could not afford it," said Larkie Jackson of Davison.

Wednesday the weatherization crew was at Jackson's home.

They were given $9 million over the next three years, opening the door for GCARD to hire more than two dozen new employees.

They're full-time, full-benefit packages and it's funded for a three-year period of time, so it guarantees employment for three years," Purcell said.

The weatherization program has been around for 30 years in Genesee County. Its purpose is to help reduce energy costs for low-income homeowners.

For more information on how to qualify for free weatherization, click here.