More than a thousand District residents are expected to pack a church Monday night to hear Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and ministers from the Washington Interfaith Network announce that they plan to train jobless residents and put them to work weatherizing homes.


In a city where the unemployment rate recently reached 12 percent, the announcement at Covenant Baptist Church east of the Anacostia River is a big deal, organizers said. The network, known as WIN, and the mayor will pledge to weatherize for free between 2,000 and 4,000 homes of low income residents to cut their energy bills, and it will train and hire up to 700 unemployed residents to do the work.


Rev. Lionel Edmonds, pastor of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and a co-founder of WIN, said the jobs will pay $13.25 to $25 per hour, depending on the task. The focus of the training by the Laborers International Union, a partner in the effort, “will be installing insulation,” Edmonds said. “Even that basic installation will help people save significantly on their energy bill.”


The union will recruit workers through a network of 50 churches, community groups and the city Department of Employment Services. The training will run seven days, Edmonds said. Job candidates must undergo drug screening and criminal background checks.