Editor’s Note: This article was updated on September 16, 2024 with the final installation and repair numbers following the project’s conclusion.

During this summer of persistent extreme heat, Fairfax County’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination (OEEC) and a network of interagency partners, local non-profits, generous residents, and volunteers, worked together to bring relief to residents of Harmony Place Mobile Home Park who were without sufficient air conditioning (AC), or no AC at all. This effort to “fill the gap” and enhance access to extreme heat-related services is in alignment with the county’s Resilient Fairfax Plan. 

Extreme heat is the “silent killer,” and the leading cause of weather-related fatalities in the United States, far outpacing all others.  The county administers federally-funded cooling programs that provide financial assistance and cooling equipment repair and installation for eligible residents. 

Due to the eligibility criteria for these federal programs, there are residents who do not qualify due to income, age, disability status, or other factors, but would benefit from additional energy assistance. A few examples of families in this situation included:

• A family with a child whose trailer was over 100 degrees inside on a hot day. 
• A family with a pregnant mother and her children who were without AC for over a year. 
• An adult male who had no AC at all at home. 

Within just a few days of being notified of the urgent situation at Harmony Place, government and non-profit partners across the county came together to create an innovative pilot project to provide window and portable AC units to these families. 

In partnership with local advocacy groups like United Community and Tenants and Workers United, county staff were able to connect with residents and assess their homes for cooling and other basic needs. 

The Department of Family Services accepted referrals for those who potentially qualified for existing services. 

Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions rallied its member congregations to donate some of the AC units. Additional supplies and financial donations were made by community members who felt compelled to help. Members of Daniels Run Peace Church stepped up to collect and transport AC units, fund critical electrical fixes, and provide additional Spanish translation. And staff from Hybla Valley Community Center graciously stored the units.

Local nonprofit Rebuilding Together stepped up to conduct electrical inspections, order additional supplies, install the units, and make other critical life-safety repairs, despite a current funding gap. The organization mobilized more than a dozen volunteers to help over a five-day period at the mobile home park, which is located in the Franconia District along the Route 1 Corridor.

Social workers from the county's Coordinated Services Planning joined OEEC on site to connect residents to other critical needs such as food, clothing, transportation, and childcare. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) ensured alignment between this effort and other ongoing mobile home park efforts. The Office of Public Affairs provided rapid help with translation services. Additional informational resources for the residents were sent to the site by the Department of Emergency Management and Security, Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, Health Department, Neighborhood and Community Services, and One Fairfax. 

OEEC led and managed the initiative, organizing these logistics and connecting all partners. This human-centered work serves and supports our most vulnerable residents, advances healthy communities, and improves housing and neighborhood livability – all important elements of the Countywide Strategic Plan. This work shows the importance of community collaboration and effective government agencies working together.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the agency and non-profit partners and generous donors, the relief project at Harmony Place resulted in a total of 31 window or portable AC units installed in 29 homes, along with other critical life-safety repairs and referrals to additional services.  A total of 54 homes were evaluated for cooling needs. Additionally, OEEC coordinated with nonprofit Community Housing Partners on energy efficiency upgrades for several of the homes.  

Special thanks to Franconia District Supervisor Rodney L. Lusk and his staff for their support and assistance. 

To further help its manufactured housing communities (MHCs), the county has applied for a $39.5 million federal grant called the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Main Competition from U.S. Housing and Urban Development. If awarded, the county will use the funding for flooding, heat, and wind resilience strategies, infrastructure upgrades, and other services to help improve the quality of life for some of the most vulnerable in our community.