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The Social Impact of Utility Debt
September 14, 2023 @ 12:00 pm EDT
United Way of Greater Cleveland will host a Community Conversation on The Social Impact of Utility Debt on September 14.
The live panel discussion will be presented via Zoom beginning at 12 p.m. While the event is free, registration is required.
Thousands of households in the Greater Cleveland area and throughout Ohio are unable to afford their basic household utility costs such as electric, gas, heating oil, water, and sewer charges. One in five Cleveland Water Department customers are at least one month behind on their water bill, and more than 270,000 Ohioans had their gas or electric services shut off due to nonpayment.
According to a recent article in Health Affairs, low-income households and those comprising Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) are disproportionately affected by utility affordability. Several factors exacerbate these issues, including low-quality housing conditions; inflation; dated, malfunctioning, or nonexistent heating and cooling equipment; poor insulation and drafts; and reliance on older, less efficient appliances.
A panel of experts from Greater Cleveland will discuss the utility needs of renters and homeowners, ways housing quality impacts utility affordability, utility costs and impact on health, and ways utility assistance programs help address utility affordability.
Panelists
Genevieve Birkby, Program Manager, Rainbow Connects, University Hospitals Rainbow Center for Women & Children
Dr. Jacklyn A. Chisholm, President and CEO, Step Forward
Tonja Stewart Shaw, Senior Outreach and Education Program Specialist, Ohio Consumers’ Counsel
Moderator
Stephen Langel, Health Care Reporter/Producer, Ideastream Public Media
