COLD WINTER SENDS COUNTY RESIDENTS SCRAMBLING FOR HEAP ASSISTANCE
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
With the economy slumping and temperatures dangerously low, Columbia County residents are seeking heating assistance at a record pace this year.
With the temperatures plunging to dangerously cold levels this week, Columbia County Department of Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman reported on Thursday that the number of applications for financial assistance through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) has soared 76 percent since last year. From the October 1 start of the federal fiscal year through January 1, the county provided HEAP assistance to 4,151 households, up from 2,350 in the 2007-08 fiscal year that ended on September 30.
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Applying plastic film to windows to conserve heat may not be enough to help some households deal with energy bills this winter.
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Similarly, the amount of funds provided to county residents for heating assistance jumped 52 percent to $1,481,908, the commissioner told ccSCOOP.
"It has increased dramatically . . . [and] we are just in the midst of the winter right now," said Mossman. "We had 342 applicants in the month of December alone . . . that's compared to 141 last December [2007]."
HEAP is a federally funded program that issues heating benefits to help pay a household’s annual energy costs. Mossman said the program this year provides up to $600 in a one-time grant through its regular benefit program and up to two additional "emergency" grants. Income guidelines to qualify for the regular benefit range from a maximum gross monthly income of $1,963 for a one-person household to $7,600 for a household of 15. The guidelines are available at www.otda.state.ny.us/main/heap/#emergency. Income guidelines for the emergency grant funding program are slightly higher and are available on the same webpage.
HEAP also offers a furnace repair and/or replacement benefit for households with nonfunctioning heating equipment.
Mossman said the dramatic increase in funds awarded to county residents has not exhausted the federal and state funding allocation. "The program is managed by the state, and they have not put out a memo indicating there is a problem,” he said.
Mossman noted that the federal and state governments—responding to the high energy costs last summer—changed the income eligibility guidelines to allow residents with higher incomes to receive assistance. In addition, they increased the maximum regular HEAP benefit from $500 to $600 and increased from one to two the number of emergency grants that could be provided.
While some of the dramatic increase in residents seeking assistance may be the result of a loosening in the federal income eligibility guidelines, Mossman said he believes much of the increase is the result of the weak economy and colder than average winter the area is experiencing. Mossman said that, unless there is a long temperature of colder than usual temperatures, he expects the number of new applications will soon begin to decline since those who need the assistance have already filed and received it.
"Unless we have a prolonged cold snap, we should begin to see a decline [in applications]," the commissioner predicted.
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