Home Energy

Mobile Home Rehabilitation

An initiative developed by the Northfield Racial and Ethnic Equity Collaborative, which includes leaders from Three Rivers Community Action, Community Action Center, Habitat for Humanity, Northfield Public Schools, City of Northfield, and Rice County Housing.

Launched in April 2022 by Healthy Community Initiative’s Growing Up Healthy program, with additional financial, volunteer, and/or institutional support from: Hosanna Church, Rice County YouthBuild, WINGS (Women in Northfield Giving Support), Rice County Family Services Collaborative, City of Faribault, and Allina Health.

With a focus on families with children birth to school age, Growing Up Healthy and its partners assist mobile home residents with financial and coordination support to make repairs that directly improve their home’s safety and energy efficiency.

If you are interested in supporting mobile home rehabilitation work in Rice County, please email Jennyffer at jen@healthycommunityinitiative.org or Nick at mobilehomerehab@healthycommunityinitiative.org

Heat Tape Outreach

Growing Up Healthy is working closely with community partners this fall to reach out to mobile home residents about heat tape. The goal: to make sure that all mobile home residents in Faribault and Northfield have their water pipes wrapped with heat tape and safely insulated to prevent frozen pipes this winter.

Heat tape is a cable placed on the underside of a water pipe that produces just enough heat to keep the pipe from freezing. It’s an affordable, safe, energy-efficient tool for mobile home residents to use.

Heat tape and insulation applied to a water pipe underneath a mobile home.

When water pipes are not safely wrapped with heat tape and insulation, residents may let water run to keep their pipes from freezing, or they may use methods of thawing pipes that are dangerous.

Click on the image to watch Faribault Fire Chief Dustin Dienst demonstrate how to correctly install heat tape wrap and insulation to a water pipe.

The other partners involved in providing volunteer support and supplies for the outreach project are: Hosanna Church, the Faribault Fire Chief, the City of Faribault, the City of Northfield, Clean Energy Resource Teams, Habitat for Humanity, and managers of Faribault and Northfield area mobile home parks.

Growing Up Healthy staff, Hosanna volunteers, and Dustin Dienst (Faribault Fire Chief)

If you are interested in supporting Heat Tape Outreach, please email Jennyffer at jen@healthycommunityinitiative.org or Nick at mobilehomerehab@healthycommunityinitiative.org

Home Energy Squad

Growing Up Healthy is partnering with the City of Faribault, City of Northfield, and leaders in home energy efficiency to bring Xcel Energy’s Home Energy Squad visits and related services to Latine residents and those living in Faribault’s and Northfield’s mobile home parks.

Home Energy Squad® is here to help with a new FREE service – the Virtual HES Visit. An hour-long video chat with energy experts will help residents discover ways to reduce energy use in their home.

To schedule a Home Energy Squad visit or for more information, contact Jen Barrientos, Growing Up Healthy Director, jen@healthycommunityinitiative.org.  

Is your mobile home ready for winter? Review this winterization checklist to find out! Renters and mobile home residents, click here for helpful guides that include tips for making sure your home is comfortable, safe, and energy efficient.

Connecting families to additional resources

During Home Energy Squad visits, Growing Up Healthy staff members are able to connect residents with additional resources, including:

  • The City of Faribault’s heat tape program
  • The Faribault Fire Department’s Fire Safety/smoke detector program
  • Three Rivers Energy Assistance Program
  • Community Action Center Food Shelf and Family Resource Center (Faribault and Northfield)
  • SEMCAC