Historic Portland Project Retrofits 500th Home

Creates Jobs And Opens New Doors of Opportunity

Mar 24, 2011 - Albert Horsley's future seemed bleak and directionless. A resident of Portland, he spent his early twenties drifting in and out of homelessness. Many nights, he slept under a bridge. Community college classes didn't pan out. Stints in low-wage jobs didn't last.

Then he caught a break.

In 2010, a local youth and family center told him about a training program offered by the Laborers union; they were weatherization courses, teaching trainees to become installers and technicians for retrofitting projects. Albert entered the program, got certified, and was hired by an energy company to do work as part of the Clean Energy Works Portland (CEWP) project.

Albert is now working full-time and earning $15.23 an hour plus health benefits, and says "this opportunity has been phenomenal because I've been able to get ahead rather than racing to catch up." {continued}

Clean Energy Works Portland

Green For All has teamed up with the City of Portland and local stakeholders to help implement a cutting-edge green jobs program. Clean Energy Works Portland is a home retrofit effort that will create jobs, reduce pollution, lower energy bills, and expand business opportunities. {continued with more video and pdf of report}