CAP-HC Marks 40 Years as Demand for Energy Assistance Hits Record Levels
Founded in 1986, Brooklyn Park-based Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County serves thousands of residents each year through energy assistance, rental assistance, financial wellness and employment programs. Its Energy Assistance Program, which runs October through May, helps roughly 20,000 households annually, and applications have hit record highs three years in a row. Director Tammy Alto says rising costs for gas, groceries, health care and housing are squeezing seniors and working families alike. Homeowner Ebony Walker got help with car repairs and a $2,000 water bill, and board member Traverna Douglas, who first sought help after leaving a shelter, calls CAP-HC a lighthouse.
For Ebony Walker, keeping the lights on sometimes meant falling behind on her mortgage. As a single homeowner, Walker has spent years balancing utility bills, transportation and housing costs, often making tough decisions about which payments can wait.
When financial hardship threatened her stability, Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County (CAP-HC) became a source of support.
“I can’t pay my full mortgage because I have to pay on other bills,” Walker said. “I take out the mortgage to pay for things like the gas or the lights, or if my car breaks down, I have to take out the mortgage money to get the car fixed.”
Walker is among thousands of Hennepin County residents who have turned to CAP-HC for help. As the Brooklyn Park-based nonprofit celebrates its 40th anniversary, it is reflecting on four decades of meeting a growing demand for its services.
Founded in 1986, CAP-HC serves thousands of children and adults each year through programs including energy assistance, rental assistance, financial wellness and employment readiness.
Its Energy Assistance Program, a pillar of the organization since its founding, helps roughly 20,000 households each year cover heating and electricity costs.
Tammy Alto, CAP-HC’s director of energy assistance, said applications have reached record levels for three consecutive years, rising by just over 1,000 each year.
“Currently, we have over 11,000 applications in, and we started taking applications Sept. 1 for an Oct. 1 start,” Alto said.
The program runs from October to May. Households must meet income eligibility requirements and reapply each year.
Alto, who has worked in energy assistance for 18 years, said the growing demand reflects financial pressures that extend beyond utility bills.
“Inflation is real. The cost of gas, groceries, health care, transportation, going back and forth to schools and to work, housing, has all increased. Households are in real need,” Alto said.
She challenged the assumption that people receiving assistance are unemployed or unwilling to work.
“Most of our households either have a fixed income, they’re seniors living on Social Security, or they are working not one but multiple jobs and still are under that poverty guideline,” Alto said.
CAP-HC’s 2025 Community Needs Assessment found that [TOP CONCERN] was the top concern, cited by 54% of survey respondents, followed by housing costs at 39% and transportation at 32%.
Traverna Douglas, a mother and CAP-HC board member who has also received assistance, said those numbers reflect her own experience.
Douglas first sought help in 2018 after leaving a homeless shelter and moving into a rental home while navigating motherhood as a college student. As her freelance income slowed, keeping up with expenses became a challenge, and daycare costs added to the strain as she worked to balance her job and child care.
“There was a lot of anxiety that was produced because you just don’t know how you’re going to make ends meet,” Douglas said.
CAP-HC’s energy assistance program kept her electricity and gas from being shut off and allowed her to manage other household expenses.
Today, Douglas brings the perspective of someone who has depended on CAP-HC’s services to its board. She describes the organization as a resource that offers both financial relief and dignity.
“It’s kind of like a lighthouse in all the rockiness of the ocean,” Douglas said.
Despite its impact, CAP-HC faces challenges meeting demand. Alto said the department processes nearly 30,000 applications a season while managing staff limitations and funding uncertainty.
Primary energy assistance grants range from $200 to $1,400, depending on household circumstances. Approved households can also access up to $600 in crisis funds throughout the season, Alto said.
Still, some families use up their available assistance before spring, leaving them vulnerable to utility shutoffs, she said.
CAP-HC’s new strategic plan focuses on strengthening emergency services while expanding pathways to long-term financial stability.
For Walker, that broader support has included vehicle repairs, home improvements and help with a water bill that had climbed to about $2,000.
“It gave me the room to breathe,” Walker said. “It takes the weight off of me.”
As CAP-HC enters its fifth decade, Douglas hopes more residents learn about its resources before financial hardship becomes a crisis.
“I just wish more people knew about it,” Douglas said.
Lizzy Nyoike is a student at the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. She welcomes reader responses at lnyoike@spokesman-recorder.com.