DENVER — As forecasts predict a record number of 90-degree days in Denver this summer, the city is boosting efforts to help older adults and vulnerable residents stay cool.
About 30% of Denver homes do not have air conditioning, according to city data. The “Cool Homes” program is providing $50,000 grants to nonprofits to purchase and distribute portable air conditioning units to residents 65 and older, as well as those with pre-existing health conditions.
The nonprofit Bright Leaf Senior Home Assistance is among the groups helping roll out the program. Executive Director Steve Olguin said grants come with requirements — recipients must be Denver residents over 65 with an area median income of 80% or less.
“That’s a big gap that we’re trying to help people out,” Olguin said. “This is an especially important program for those who don’t have air conditioning.”
The units allow residents to cool one room at a time, lowering energy costs. HVAC contractors are also inspecting homes for efficiency upgrades.
“One of the most effective ways and least expensive ways to cool a home is by using zone systems — this is just a mini portable zone system,” said Cornelio “Corn” Martinez of Maize Mechanical. “We create a healthy, safe, affordable environment for them, because your home, your castle, right? That’s where you recharge.”
For Terie Armenta, the program means her first real relief from summer heat in decades.
“I can feel the air, it’s cool right now — it’s going to be nice to sleep at night,” Armenta said. “I can just have it in one room.”
Olguin said older homes without air conditioning and neighborhoods lacking tree cover are especially vulnerable to dangerous heat. He hopes other counties will follow Denver’s lead.
Applications and more information about the Cool Homes program are available on the city’s climate resilience webpage.
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