Keeping Homes Comfortable During COVID: Emergency Heating & Cooling Repairs

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Maricopa County is dedicated to providing housing services designed to address home repair emergencies, safety concerns, and energy efficiency upgrades for vulnerable populations. Maricopa County Human Services Department (MCHSD) created and mobilized the Maricopa County COVID Emergency Heating & Cooling Repair and Replace Program during the hottest summer on record in Arizona to allow residents an opportunity to stay in their homes safely during COVID-19 Pandemic. The purpose of the program was to assist individuals and families experiencing a hardship as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic with their cooling or heating needs. This program provided HVAC repair or replacement for 62 families that had experienced a hardship due directly related to COVID-19 and were unable to complete the necessary repairs themselves. The program mobilized quickly, innovatively used technology in order to maintain client and staff safety as well as shorten the application intake timeframe. This program represents a scalable model for assisting County residents in a way that efficiently utilizes new online systems and demonstrated that Maricopa County is able to adapt to rapidly changing environments and still successfully provide services to the most vulnerable residents.