With triple-digit heat index values gripping greater Cincinnati, a broken air conditioner can turn dangerous fast and a new city program aims to make sure low-income homeowners don't have to face that crisis alone.Cincinnati Ci ty Council approved a $500,000 investment in a new "Affordability Fund" as part of the 2027 budget.Councilman Ryan James said partnerships with nonprofits like People Working Cooperatively (PWC) and outside organizations could expand that into nearly $9 million a year.PWC is a nonprofit that helps low-income homeowners with critical repairs across the region."If you need capital improvements in your home to invest in your heating or cooling structures, that could be made in an emergency situation," James said.WATCH: Learn how this new funding will bolster PWCs work and who qualifies Cincinnati launches affordability fund to help low-income homeowners with emergency repairsThe program is available now for qualifying homeowners, including low-income residents, seniors, people with disabilities and those facing unsafe living conditions. It is also designed to help homeowners avoid displacement caused by expensive repairs like failing roofs or code violations.During this week's heat wave, the WCPO team met residents like Nevaeh Parsons, who said her family has been without air conditioning for months."It's supposed to only rise in temperature this week. What about the elderly, what about the people? Like, I have a baby myself" Parsons said.PWC said demand for cooling help is surging."In this particular heat situation, we're getting a lot of emergency calls" Jock Pitts, president of PWC, said.Pitts said the volume of requests is well above normal for this time of year."I can't tell you exactly what the percentage is, but it's significantly higher right now than it would have been, and all the other calls are happening too. When we get those rings, you know, it just exacerbates that problem as well," Pitts said.With extreme heat expected to continue, PWC said the most urgent cases move to the front of the line."We like to talk of ourselves as being like a mash tent. It depends on the severity of the issue, so if somebody has an issue that's, you know, it's an ongoing problem at the porch needs a little bit of attention, as opposed to there's no air conditioning in the home and the person's on oxygen, well, that gets prioritized," Pitts said.James urged qualifying residents not to wait."My challenge to residents is just make the call, make the call, make the call" James said.Homeowners who need emergency repairs can contact People Working Cooperatively for assistance. ...read more read less