Pablita’s Home Upgrades Story

When Pablita’s father passed away seven years ago, she began looking for a way to bring her family closer together. Her work in the hospice sector had brought Pablita and her daughters west to Calgary while her mother, a retired nurse, and her brother, who is on the autism spectrum and receives disability support, were still living in Ontario.

Eventually, Pablita was able to purchase a 1978 home in northeast Calgary, giving her mother and brother an opportunity to live in Calgary with Pablita and her daughters.  

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“A little bit of a fixer upper, but that's all I could afford based on my income as a sole provider,” Pablita explained.

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From the start, she knew that its aging systems would eventually need upgrades to improve comfort and energy efficiency. The house had good bones, but it needed work.

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The family lived together in their new home until Pablita had to move to Victoria for work. Her mother and brother remained in the house as tenants, using their fixed incomes to contribute toward rent and utilities as Pablita looked for ways to keep them comfortable and keep up with the home’s maintenance and upgrade needs.  

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The original furnace from the ‘70s was still in place, the insulation was old, and utility bills could reach around $600 in the winter. With several costly improvements needed, Pablita planned to tackle the work slowly.

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“I was thinking I'll break them up in the next three to five years because that's just the way I could figure it out, for the budget,” she said. “But when I really looked at it, I realized we're never going to be able to afford it. My eldest girl will need to start university in five years. It just didn't make sense.”

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Pablita decided to contact the City of Calgary to find out if financial support was available, and a staff member suggested the City’s Home Upgrades Program. Pablita immediately reached out the team. With her mother and brother renting the home, the family was able to apply through the program’s renter offering.

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Through the Home Upgrades Program, the household received a new high-efficiency furnace and hot water tank, attic insulation, new windows and doors, and other energy-saving measures. Pablita estimates that completing that work herself would have cost tens of thousands of dollars.

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“I'm telling you right now there's no way that I could afford that with my current income and the way that our family is really positioned at this time.”

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Beyond addressing upgrades the family otherwise could not afford, the improvements have made a noticeable difference in the comfort of the home.  

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Before the upgrades, the upstairs could become so hot in summer that the family sometimes slept downstairs or in the basement. With added attic insulation and new windows, Pablita says the home is more comfortable and has stayed noticeably cooler through the summer. She also noticed the difference in colder weather. Several drafty doors were replaced or sealed, including a sliding patio door that had been letting in and out a significant amount of air.

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“Because of the new windows and insulation, it feels much warmer,” she said.  

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Pablita also noticed that the home is much quieter with less wind and outside noise coming through the upgraded windows.

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These upgrades and their noticeable comfort carry particular meaning for Pablita because of her work in non-profit hospice and palliative care. Through her work, she has seen how important it is for people to remain in a comfortable and safe home as they age.

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“The majority of people would prefer to be at home, be cared for at home… but their home doesn't allow them to do that because it's either not retrofitted or not set up to support them.”

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For Pablita, the Home Upgrades Program was a way to help make that possible for her family.  

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“I like the way that this program is about keeping people in their home,” she said.