U.S. Department of Energy representative tours Willowbrook Senior Center for energy-efficient grant project.

Dr. Tony Reames, the Principal Deputy Director of the Office of State and Community Energy Programs for the U.S. Department of Energy, toured Willowbrook Senior Center yesterday. 

Willowbrook Senior Center is one of four LA County sites that collectively will see more than $1.34 million worth of improvements as a result of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the Department of Energy. LA County is the first recipient of this grant. 

 The Willowbrook Senior Center provides services for older adults who live in the Watts, Willowbrook, Athens, Westmont, and South Los Angeles area. Programs and services offered at the Willowbrook Senior Center include onsite congregate meal services, pantry/food assistance, utility assistance, social and educational programming. It also serves as a cooling center during extreme weather events. 

 As a result of this first-in-the-nation grant, the Willowbrook Senior Center will receive $429,000 worth of energy-efficient improvements. 

“The Aging & Disabilities Department and the residents we serve at Willowbrook Senior Center appreciate this investment from the Department of Energy, along with our ongoing partnership with the Internal Services Department,” said Billy Yeung, Program Manager for LA County’s Community and Senior Centers. “This first-in-the-nation grant will make Willowbrook Senior Center an energy-efficient building, creating the foundation for the Willowbrook Senior Center becoming a net-zero energy building in the future.”