Talbot Interfaith Shelter

Utilizing its 2017 Clean Energy Communities Low-to-Moderate Income Grant Program (LMI) award, Talbot Interfaith Shelter (TIS) was able to upgrade its homeless shelter in Easton, Maryland to be more efficient and comfortable for its residents. TIS is a voluntary interfaith-based service organization with a mission dedicated both to providing safe, temporary shelter to men, women, and children who lack adequate housing, and to raising awareness of the issues of homelessness in our community. Their vision is that no one in

Talbot County will ever have to spend a night on the streets, in a car or in the woods because he or she cannot find housing. TIS is Easton’s only year-round family shelter and is one of only two homeless shelters in Talbot County. While its emphasis is on providing for 3-4 families at any given time, it also provides for single residents
and can accommodate approximately 13-15 people in need of housing. A former bed and breakfast, the 1890’s era home was in dire need of air sealing and insulation to improve comfort
and reduce extremely high energy bills. Utilizing a grant award amount of $14,870, TIS performed a comprehensive energy audit that measured the efficiency of the building and its mechanical systems. The audit results revealed a high air leakage rate and recommended cost-effective measures such as increasing insulation in the attic and basement, adding duct insulation/sealing, and switching lights from incandescent to LED bulbs.

Talbot Interfaith Shelter Energy Savings Table

The table on the previous page summarized the savings for each of the implemented measures. Combining all these measures, TIS accumulated an estimated annual total of $3050 in energy savings. The measures and savings represent a common-sense approach to getting the most “bang for your buck” out of a building energy upgrade. Operations Manager Fran Doran noticed right away that the building “heats up and cools down quicker while being less drafty.” Among the principles of TIS is; “The Shelter believes that all men, women, and children have an inherent right to adequate housing that is safe and secure.” Having increased comfort and greater financial resources to direct back into the program certainly helps to achieve this mission.

Neoma Rohman, CEO of Eleventh House Solutions and Volunteer Grant Writer and Project Manager for the TIS energy efficiency upgrades, noted that “TIS is one of only two shelters in the entirety of Talbot County so we do everything we can to support it. Since the local municipally-owned utility company does not currently offer energy efficiency programs, weatherization funds from Maryland Energy Administration are often the only option for programs like the Shelter to reduce operating costs and make the residents more comfortable.”