Program to get elderly people AC in Southeast Fresno launching Friday

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Councilmember Luis Chavez is launching a programme to get AC units into the homes of aged radical successful his district.

It volition commencement with 10 homes successful Southeast Fresno this Friday.

In an effort to debar the heat, radical chose to bash their market buying aft the prima acceptable Wednesday.

While taking steps to support themselves, immoderate accidental they interest astir their aged neighbors and effort to connection immoderate assemblage solutions.

"When I'm retired and about, I archer them we person a room that close connected Kings Canyon and Clovis Avenue that they tin spell successful determination and work and beryllium each time and it's bully and chill successful determination oregon they spell to a batch of the McDonald's and person a soda successful determination and beryllium successful determination and beryllium cool," said Bill Casey, Fresno resident.

Excessive vigor tin beryllium unsafe for everyone, but radical older than 65 and those with pre-existing aesculapian conditions, specified arsenic asthma, could beryllium much astatine risk.

CAL FIRE Fresno County encourages everyone to enactment hydrated and enactment successful chill areas erstwhile possible.

"A batch of the vigor emergencies that we person is conscionable due to the fact that it's radical staying successful blistery environments for excessively agelong and not being capable to chill down the body," said Jacob Wild with CAL FIRE Fresno County.

With repetition vigor waves, Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez became acrophobic for the aged successful his territory stuck successful homes without effectual aerial conditioning.

"We get a batch of reports from elder citizens that 1 can't spend the units, 2 can't spend oregon don't person entree to proscription to get to our cooling centers truthful we're fundamentally trying to bring these resources to them," said Chavez.

Within his district, he's launching the Senior Citizen Air Conditioning Assistance Program an effort to get model AC units into the homes of the aged connected fixed incomes.

His bureau is purchasing the units that volition past beryllium installed for escaped by Ironworkers Local 155 present successful Fresno.

In the archetypal phase, 10 units volition beryllium installed astatine homes astatine Senior Citizen Village successful Southeast Fresno who already get assistance for their PG&E bills.

"The managers determination picked the folks that acceptable that contiguous criteria, 1 they were enrolled successful the CARE Program, fixed income, and had immoderate benignant of wellness problems that required them to person cleanable aerial successful their dwelling," said Chavez.

The units volition beryllium an upgrade from the swamp coolers they presently have, which Chavez said volition besides assistance them prevention connected their vigor bill.

The $5,000 outgo to bargain the 25 units, each valued astatine $200, volition beryllium paid for done District 5's infrastructure budget.

If the programme is successful, Chavez says he'll look for further backing oregon for donated units.

The units besides treble arsenic heaters truthful the radical who person them volition beryllium covered year-round. Applications for the programme unfastened connected Friday.

You conscionable person to beryllium connected a fixed income to apply.

For quality updates, travel Kate Nemarich connected Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.