Information and Referral

Practical Guidance for Reducing Household Burdens and Strengthening Community Solutions

The Appalachian Center for Sustainable Communities (ACSC) provides Information & Referral (I&R) services to help individuals, families, neighborhoods, and local organizations reduce everyday household burdens and identify when broader community action is needed.

ACSC focuses on four core household burden areas:

  • Energy burden
  • Food burden
  • Transportation burden
  • Waste burden

These burden areas form the foundation of the Community Sustainability Index (CSI) and the operational backbone of ACSC’s Council–Coalition–Co-op model.

The I&R service is designed to translate complex sustainability concepts into clear, practical guidance that households and communities can act on immediately, while also identifying situations where coordinated planning, advocacy, or implementation is required.

1. Energy Burden Reduction

Households experience energy burden through:

  • High utility bills
  • Poor insulation
  • Drafty windows and doors
  • Inefficient appliances
  • Lack of weatherization
  • Unstable or unsafe heating and cooling options

Direct Guidance

Energy burden reduction often delivers the fastest and most reliable household relief, because it lowers monthly costs while stabilizing exposure to price volatility. When conditions are appropriate, efficiency and demand-reduction measures reduce financial, environmental, and time burdens simultaneously.

Information & Guidance We Provide

  • DIY weatherization methods
  • How to evaluate basic home efficiency
  • Understanding utility rate structures
  • Solar and passive-solar options (where appropriate)
  • Guidance for seniors and fixed-income households
  • Identifying local energy assistance programs
  • Knowing when to request a home energy audit

When Referral Is Needed

ACSC may recommend Council, Coalition, or Co-op involvement when:

  • Neighborhood-scale weatherization is needed
  • Renters face high energy burden without control over efficiency
  • Community solar or distributed energy planning is warranted
  • A retrofit workforce co-op could reduce costs and build local skills

Selected Resources & References

  • Passive solar design principles
  • Net-zero and near-net-zero housing strategies
  • Residential energy-efficiency self-help guides
  • Utility assistance and incentive program overviews

2. Food Burden Reduction

Food burden is shaped by:

  • Distance to grocery stores
  • Food availability and price instability
  • Limited access to fresh produce
  • Dependence on low-nutrition convenience food
  • Transportation barriers

Direct Guidance

Food systems affect multiple household burdens at once. Early attention to food access can stabilize costs, improve health outcomes, and reduce transportation strain.

Information & Guidance We Provide

  • Starting small-scale home gardens
  • Urban agriculture and neighborhood garden models
  • Container gardening for apartments
  • Local food distribution programs
  • Safe food preservation and storage
  • Healthy eating on limited budgets
  • Identifying food deserts and access barriers

When Referral Is Needed

Community-level action may be appropriate when:

  • Fresh food is not accessible within walking distance
  • Vacant land could support gardens or micro-farms
  • A food distribution co-op could reduce household costs
  • A Coalition could address zoning or retail access
  • A Council needs to integrate food access into planning

Selected Resources & References

  • Urban agriculture toolkits
  • Community food hub models
  • Local and regional food access programs
  • Household food security research

3. Transportation Burden Reduction

Transportation burden appears through:

  • Long commute times
  • Limited or unreliable transit service
  • High vehicle ownership and maintenance costs
  • Unsafe walking conditions
  • Barriers to job access

Direct Guidance

Transportation is often a hidden destabilizer, affecting work, education, health, and household time. Small changes can sometimes produce large relief when barriers are clearly identified.

Information & Guidance We Provide

  • Local transit options and route maps
  • Walking and biking route identification
  • Rideshare and car-sharing strategies
  • Low-cost vehicle maintenance guidance
  • Household transportation cost-reduction strategies
  • Job-access-by-transit analysis tools

When Referral Is Needed

ACSC flags situations where:

  • Transit routes miss key employment or service centers
  • Walking access to essentials is unsafe
  • CSI analysis identifies transit deserts
  • Mobility systems require redesign
  • Shared mobility or ride-to-work co-ops could emerge

Selected Resources & References

  • 15-minute city and proximity-based planning concepts
  • Active transportation planning guides
  • Public transit equity research

4. Waste Burden & Circularity

Waste burden reflects:

  • Inadequate recycling access
  • Lack of composting options
  • High-cost or inconsistent waste removal
  • Reusable materials becoming trash
  • Distance to recycling facilities

Direct Guidance

Waste and circularity interventions can produce rapid neighborhood improvements, reducing costs while increasing environmental and community worth.

Information & Guidance We Provide

  • Household waste-reduction strategies
  • Home composting methods
  • Recycling guidelines
  • Repair and reuse techniques
  • Circular economy principles
  • Local hazardous, e-waste, and bulk-waste programs

When Referral Is Needed

Council, Coalition, or Co-op involvement may be appropriate when:

  • Chronic dumping or litter affects neighborhoods
  • Municipal circularity planning is needed
  • Recycling or reuse co-ops could reduce public costs
  • Composting could support urban agriculture
  • Education gaps create systemic waste problems

Selected Resources & References

  • Circular economy case studies
  • Community composting models
  • Municipal waste-reduction programs

5. When Information Leads to Action

The Information & Referral process is designed to:

  • Help households take immediate burden-reduction steps
  • Identify deeper structural issues
  • Connect residents to relevant local programs
  • Provide intelligence to Councils, Coalitions, and Co-ops
  • Seed projects that produce measurable community impact

When recurring patterns appear—such as:

  • Persistent energy hardship
  • Chronic food access gaps
  • Transportation isolation
  • Waste or recycling instability

ACSC can route these signals to the appropriate community structure:

  • Sustainability Councils → planning and coordination
  • Coalitions → advocacy and option development
  • Co-ops → hands-on implementation

This is how lived experience becomes actionable data.

6. The Role of Information & Referral in ACSC

Information & Referral activates the front end of the sustainability system by:

  • Translating burdens into usable steps
  • Offering immediate, practical help
  • Highlighting gaps that require organized response
  • Feeding insight into CSI assessments
  • Strengthening feedback loops within the commons

Information & Referral is not a static resource list.

It is a living, service-oriented tool that helps reduce household burden today while building the foundation for coordinated community action tomorrow.