In-Homes Programs: serves low-income, seniors and those experiencing disability with weatherization and repairs to increase resiliency and age in place.
Program Highlights: CEP was able to quickly adapt and intervene with emergency supplies for some households during the COVID-19 shutdown and operated as an essential service.
Most Proud of From The Program Last Year: The flexibility and dedication of the in-homes staff to quickly develop policies and procedures to keep CEP clients safe during COVID-19 shutdowns. Then as an essential service, helping clients experiencing disproportionate impacts of the pandemic, to be able to continue going to homes and helping our clients.
This Year CEP Is Most Excited For: The adaptation of staff tp continue to serve clients and having completed multiple fiscal years together as a team. The program knowledge and ability to execute will only help us continue to succeed in the year ahead.

Lead Program: CEP’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program teaches participants about health impacts and common sources of lead. This program empowers participants with prevention knowledge and skills to help eliminate lead poisoning. This program serves Multnomah County community members. We especially encourage participation from families with children, people living in homes built prior to 1978, and anyone considering doing a DIY project that may disturb lead paint.
Program Highlights: We offer two workshops to our community. Our Lead Poisoning Prevention Workshop focuses on identifying lead sources and reducing exposure. Our Lead-Safe Home Projects Workshop focuses on those doing hands-on DIY projects involving Lead-based paint, such as sanding down an antique door to reuse. We also have the HEPA Vacuum Lending Program, which allows participants in our workshops to borrow a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtered vacuum to remove lead dust in their home.
Most Proud of From The Program Last Year: We are proud to have served over 300 households last year! We were able to offer our community 59 Lead Poisoning Prevention Workshops and 8 Lead-Safe Home Projects Workshops. We are also proud to offer our workshops in 9 different languages: English, Spanish, Karen, MaayMaay, Zomi, Arabic, Nepali, Burmese, and Rohinga.
This Year CEP Is Most Excited For: This year we are excited to expand our programming into virtual platforms and create a stronger online presence.

Community Solar: is a different model of solar energy that increases accessibility through allowing individuals to sign-up to a portion of a shared, off-site solar project. Participants are not responsible for any upfront costs, can live in any kind of home (e.g. apartment or mobile home), can either rent or own, and still receive all the benefits of solar energy through this program. Participants must live in Oregon and be a utility customer of either Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, or Idaho power in order to participate in the program.
Program Highlights: Low-income participants receive additional benefits and protections through this program, such as no late fees, no contract termination costs, and greater discounts on their monthly utility bills. As Low-Income Facilitator, we work with all low-income residents of Oregon to help them understand community solar and its many benefits. We currently provide educational presentations in English and Spanish, have educational materials in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian, and are able to accommodate additional languages to those who reach out and ask for assistance!
Most Proud of From The Program Last Year: We are currently conducting intake calls for low-income participants to join our statewide waitlist. Individuals are connected with a community solar project once they are ready to accept new subscribers. We expect the first projects to be operational before the end of this year (2020) which means individuals will be able to see solar savings shortly!
This Year CEP Is Most Excited For: Historically, low-income individuals have not been able to access solar energy, both because of its financial and physical barriers. We are excited by the fact that community solar is changing this reality and that low-income individuals will now be able to participate in solar energy, help build a renewable energy future, and also receive monthly bill savings for years to come!

Weatherization Program: This was CEP’s flagship program and still teaches hundreds of households how to reduce their energy bills while keeping their homes more comfortable each year. We have two workshops within this program, including a Winter weatherization and Summer cooling workshop. Both workshops demonstrate ways to keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer by using the materials we distribute to qualified participants. This program serves renters or owners of any housing type in the Portland-metro area. Low-income participants are especially encouraged to attend, and receive a free kit of weatherization materials. However, even those who are not low-income enjoy attending these workshops to learn our energy-saving tips and learn where to purchase the materials covered in the workshops.
Program Highlights: These workshops provide detailed instructions and demonstrations on how to use the provided weatherization materials. We teach you how to stay cool in the Summer without relying on AC, and share tips that have allowed clients to save up to $20 per month on their electricity bills. This program was also crafted with renters in mind, and most suggestions and materials are usable for those living in rented homes.
Most Proud of From The Program Last Year: Last year this program served hundreds of households, and nearly every one reported it was worth attending. We even have many repeat-attendees who return just to see if any new information has been added and to bring along friends and family. FY 2019-2020 was the first year we piloted our Summer Cooling workshop and it was a huge success – we connected with over 150 renters to provide them information and tools to reduce (or completely eliminate) the need to run AC units while also promoting water conservation and heat safety!
This Year CEP Is Most Excited For: We are most excited to begin providing our second season of cooling workshops. Our clients have expressed a lot of interest around this topic, as Portland Summers are growing warmer and most homes lack AC. We have adapted our programs to be virtual for the time being, but we will still be distributing hundreds of cooling kits to keep our clients cool and happy this summer!