May-Ann's Home Upgrades Story
When May-Ann first heard about the City of Calgary's Home Upgrades Program on television, the possibility of receiving fully funded upgrades caught her attention.
A lifelong Star Trek fan, May-Ann has spent decades building her collection of memorabilia line the walls of a room in her Calgary home, which one of her neighbours calls a museum.
“Even as a kid, I loved to create and display things, so this is my passion,” she shared.
May-Ann takes a similar approach to maintaining her home, keeping up with repairs and making things last wherever possible.
“My biggest fear is the furnace because it's 30 years old,” she explained.
Knowing she didn’t have enough savings to replace it, she made sure to have it serviced regularly. But because it is getting older, she recently obtained estimates for a new one, just in case.
However, now that she’s retired, May-Ann knows how difficult it can be to put money aside while keeping up with everyday expenses, let alone major expenses.
“They always say to have three months’ worth of savings for emergencies. Well, how do you do that?”
When May-Ann first heard about the City of Calgary's Home Upgrades Program on television, the possibility of receiving fully funded upgrades caught her attention.
“I [had] seen it on TV, and I thought, wow, that sounds like an interesting program. But is it really real?”
She wrote down the information and contacted the program to learn more, but even after applying, May-Ann was cautious.
May-Ann, who jokes that she's “a Trekkie, not a techie,” reached out to the HUP team by email and received a quick response and the assistance she needed to complete her application. The experience helped ease her initial uncertainty about the program.
“I thought, oh, that should take about three or four weeks before they get back to me. He got back to me right away,” she recalled.
What began as hope for a new furnace turned into several improvements to May-Ann's home, including a hot water tank, attic insulation and air sealing. For someone who had been carefully maintaining a 30-year-old furnace, the upgrades addressed a significant financial concern and provided improvements above and beyond.
She also appreciated being able to ask questions throughout the process. She asked Pat, HUP’s Construction Manager, if she could watch while he worked, eager to learn more about her home. Her thermostat wasn't functioning as she expected, but she was able to ask Pat about it and learned that the wiring in her home was different and how to use it properly.
As her confidence in the program grew, May-Ann began encouraging friends and neighbours to apply, including her friend Elizabeth, who had also been worried about the cost of replacing her own furnace. Elizabeth applied right away and also received a new furnace and other home upgrades through HUP.
Knowing that some friends had limited online access, May-Ann was able to reassure them that the HUP team can support people who have little experience with technology.
“It was hard to believe,” May-Ann shared about her initial impressions of HUP. But after experiencing the program firsthand, she's become someone who encourages others to find out whether they could benefit too.
She hopes her experience will reassure others who are interested in participating in the City of Calgary’s Home Upgrades Program.
May-Ann's experience highlights how access to fully funded home upgrades can help Calgary households address costly repairs and make improvements that might otherwise be financially out of reach.
If you have questions about your application or need additional support, our team is here to help. Contact us at hello@homeupgradesprogram.ca or (403) 536-4006.
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