By Isle of Wight Observer
To mark the beginning of Big Energy Saving Week, National Energy Action is announcing this year’s successful Warm and Safe Homes Campaign (WASH) Award winners.
The Footprint Trust are among the winners in this year’s awards. WASH is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the impact of cold homes on health and safety and the solutions available to make homes warmer and safer. As part of the campaign, NEA has provided funding to 25 organisations across the UK to run community events at a local level to help vulnerable people with their energy needs.
Footprint Trust is running a series ‘Winter Warmer Roadshows’ which they will take out to local people in the most rural locations of the Isle of Wight. They will offer free tea and cake to people in community venues such as tearooms, pubs and post offices. People can bring in their energy bills, and they will be helped to identify savings by switching tariff or supplier. The events will take placeThe Post Office in the Church Cafe, Whitwell at 11.00 on Friday 1st February, The White Horse pub, Whitwell at 12.00 on Friday 1st February, The White Mouse pub at 11.00 on Thursday 7th February and ‘Our Place’, Moa Place, Freshwater at 10.00 on Tuesday 12th February
Footprint Trust will also identify eligibility for Warm Home Discount and the Priority Services Register. They will also link eligible people to ECO funding available for boiler installations and insulation. This will be followed up with a home visit which will give further support and ‘lifestyle’ guidance tailored to the needs of each household.
Maria Wardrobe, Director of Communications and External Relations at National Energy Action said: “Last winter the number of excess winter deaths was the highest since 1975. It is a tragedy that so many people die or suffer the health impacts of living in a cold home when they are largely preventable. This is why NEA committed to provide funding to so many different organisations across the country. We anticipate that the funding will make it possible for the Footprint Trust to provide much-needed support for residents within the local area”.
The funding was supplemented by Calor in rural areas upon recognising the increased costs of delivering fuel poverty projects in rural areas.
Paul Blacklock, Head of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at Calor said: “We’re delighted that the Footprint Trust has been awarded this funding from NEA’s Warm and Safe Homes Campaign.
As a major energy supplier to rural homes, Calor has been working with NEA for over a decade now on rural fuel poverty and one of the realities is that it costs more to do anything in rural areas which is why we have provided the extra funding to allow organisations to get things done. We are really looking forward to seeing the outputs from the project.”
