Linda is the energy assistance program coordinator at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. She efficiently runs this very important community resource single-handedly, from running the administrative portion of the program, to scheduling her own appointments, to personally seeing every single family or client that seeks help with energy assistance.

Clients often come to her in crisis – many with their electricity completely shut off due to situations out of their personal control. This situation is especially dire during our chilly winter months. Through the Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program, Linda is able to assist hundreds of families every winter. She is incredibly dedicated to her work, sometimes staying until 9pm or later for clients who can’t make it during regular business hours. She has gone above and beyond her regular duties with IRCO by assisting other social services agencies with their energy assistance intake.

The communities that Linda specifically outreaches to with her program are our most vulnerable communities – low-income families, senior and disabled communities, recent immigrants and refugees, East Portlanders, and all overlaps in between. Linda’s program helps to cover the gaps that mainstream social services in Portland may have missed.