Question for the forum:
My wife has a friend who is undergoing some issues and is facing some big expenses with limited means. They are 4 generations of girls in the same house (great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and 11-yo daughter) with no men around to help out. I just learned their furnace went out, last winter, and it's been out ever since. Apparently repairing it isn't an option due to age, so a replacement is likely needed. With winter coming again, it's going to be a big issue for them. And with the furnace having been out as long as it has, likely the ducts are going to need some cleaning.
So here is my question: I know we have some HVAC guys on the forum, but I'm more interested in those that handle residential HVAC. I'm curious if there are any resources out there that anyone knows about to help out folks in need. We're going to look into seeing if we can help gather some funds for them to get the furnace back online, replaced, if possible, I need to get an idea of what costs are involved so I can start to quantify the costs. At this point, I don't have any details on the furnace type, fuel type, etc., I'm trying to find that out. I'm going to see if we can get more information on the type of furnace to help better try to quantify the costs involved.
I'm looking into Energy Trust of Oregon as I know they have some resources for weatherization and heating issues for folks struggling financially, but I don't yet know what they can offer.
Secondly, and a somewhat minor issue, their dishwasher has died too. I can put in a replacement, but thought I'd start reaching out to see if anyone has a used one out there at a reasonable price that we could help get to them. You never know what might be out there if you don't ask.
The family are legal immigrants from Poland who came here about 25 years ago. They really hesitate when it comes to asking for assistance as they want to care for themselves as much as they can. The string of bad luck lately has made that a daunting task that wiped out their savings.
Really just looking for resources/information because I'm not entirely sure the best places to start a search like this. Hopefully some folks out there may have dealt with something like this before and can help guide me where to look.
Anyway, thanks for any information you can offer. They are sweet people and we'd like to find a way to help if we can.
My wife has a friend who is undergoing some issues and is facing some big expenses with limited means. They are 4 generations of girls in the same house (great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and 11-yo daughter) with no men around to help out. I just learned their furnace went out, last winter, and it's been out ever since. Apparently repairing it isn't an option due to age, so a replacement is likely needed. With winter coming again, it's going to be a big issue for them. And with the furnace having been out as long as it has, likely the ducts are going to need some cleaning.
So here is my question: I know we have some HVAC guys on the forum, but I'm more interested in those that handle residential HVAC. I'm curious if there are any resources out there that anyone knows about to help out folks in need. We're going to look into seeing if we can help gather some funds for them to get the furnace back online, replaced, if possible, I need to get an idea of what costs are involved so I can start to quantify the costs. At this point, I don't have any details on the furnace type, fuel type, etc., I'm trying to find that out. I'm going to see if we can get more information on the type of furnace to help better try to quantify the costs involved.
I'm looking into Energy Trust of Oregon as I know they have some resources for weatherization and heating issues for folks struggling financially, but I don't yet know what they can offer.
Secondly, and a somewhat minor issue, their dishwasher has died too. I can put in a replacement, but thought I'd start reaching out to see if anyone has a used one out there at a reasonable price that we could help get to them. You never know what might be out there if you don't ask.
The family are legal immigrants from Poland who came here about 25 years ago. They really hesitate when it comes to asking for assistance as they want to care for themselves as much as they can. The string of bad luck lately has made that a daunting task that wiped out their savings.
Really just looking for resources/information because I'm not entirely sure the best places to start a search like this. Hopefully some folks out there may have dealt with something like this before and can help guide me where to look.
Anyway, thanks for any information you can offer. They are sweet people and we'd like to find a way to help if we can.