The JP UP Date: JP Offers Energy Efficiency Program WeatherUP

Number 230 July 7, 2023 St. Louis

JP Offers Energy Efficiency Loan Product, WeatherUP

Earlier this week, on Monday, July 3rd, Earth recorded its hottest day. That record was broken the very next day on Tuesday, July 4th. These back-to-back recordings mark one of the most clear examples we have that the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. We know that one of the principal drivers of this is human activity. We also know that low-income households, in both urban and rural areas, are most at risk of ramifications from climate change due to limited access to resources. These resources range from keeping living spaces cool to recovery from natural disasters, such as flooding. Large-scale solutions will be required to solve for this primary challenge of our lifetime. However, it’s also true that small-scale solutions will be just as necessary.

Justine PETERSEN is proud to offer the WeatherUP program as a means for households to improve their energy efficiency. This program offers borrowers in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas up to $2,500 at 3% without any collateral to purchase and install smart thermostats, Energy Star appliances, and other energy savings upgrades. With the aim of the program being to save energy at the individual level in the interest of supporting the global environment, JP does require borrowers in the program to provide a utility bill before and after the specified upgrade to measure success. To learn more about the program, apply here or reach out to JP Asset Building Counselor Franchot Cunningham.

Free Small Business Advocacy Training Session This Monday, July 10th

This Monday July 10th, join the Kansas City CDFI Coalition + NEXT MO for a free virtual advocacy training session centered around small business owners and entrepreneurs. This session will be led by Jason Wiens of NEXT MO, who will educate individuals on how to advocate for policy change that eliminates barriers for small business owners, and the importance of doing so. This session will begin at Noon CST and last for one hour. More information and registration can be found here.

Strong Support for JP’s Small Business Owner Focused Lunch & Learns

Last week Justine PETERSEN’s Business Assistance Team (BAT) had the pleasure of hosting two lunch and learns with notable presenters: on Wednesday, June 28th Porscha Anderson of the Heartland STL Black Chamber presented on how small business owners can leverage the Chamber, and on Thursday, June 29th the Small Business Administration’s Darcella Craven (pictured below, rightmost with Shawna Collier and colleague Amina) gave a Workshop for Business Owners. JP’s BAT team has been hosting lunch and learns since 2022 to give clients access to free resources and expert advice for growing their businesses. The events last week showed the true value of these opportunities, with both receiving strong attendance and rave reviews from our clients. As Shirley Samuels, JP client and owner of Women World of Beauty said of Darcella Craven’s presentation: “This workshop was dynamic! I never knew this office existed and Darcella Craven was a wealth of knowledge in explaining the benefits we as small business owners have in letting our voice be heard.” Marcus Bolden, JP’s Business Assistance Manager says, “This is a pure example of how our workshops can be game changing for our clients. Of course, not every workshop may present a direct benefit to each client. However, all clients can gain at least a nugget of knowledge from and pass on even more information to those in their network who may need it.”

With this being a popular period for vacations and time with family, our lunch & learns are taking a small summer break. We are always looking for feedback on topics clients want to learn about, as well as subject matter experts who are looking to pass along their wealth of knowledge. To get in touch about either, please reach out to Marcus Bolden.

The Arc of the Moral Universe Remains Long

Madam Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, so eloquently penned what many of us are acutely aware of in her dissent last Thursday, regarding the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action. She reminds us of how this decision is deeply reflective of the racist ignorance that is pervasive in our country – still. Thank you Justice, for stating the obvious – and for reminding the country of your own lived experiences.

“Our country has never been so colorblind,” Jackson wrote. “Given the lengthy history of state-sponsored, race-based preferences in America, to say that anyone is now victimized if a college considers whether that legacy of discrimination has unequally advantaged its applicants fails to acknowledge the well-documented ‘intergenerational transmission of inequality’ that still plagues our citizenry.”

“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat,” she wrote. “But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems.”

Resources Available for Missouri Tenants

Mortgage Assistance for Illinois Homeowners

As a HUD certified counseling agency, Justine PETERSEN is here to support. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about mortgage assistance and the application process to contact us by emailing JPHomeTeam@justinepetersen.org. More information can also be found here.