LIHEAP applications open

Posted by Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program on November 20, 2017

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program opens in PA, NJ

On Nov. 1, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) opened for the 2017-18 season. LIHEAP distributes federal funds that help many eligible Pennsylvanians, including seniors and people with disabilities, remain safe, healthy and warm by assisting them with energy costs.

The program ensures that recipients do not have to choose between paying their energy bills and affording necessities like food and medicine. LIHEAP offers assistance in the form of a cash grant that is sent directly to the utility company, or a crisis grant for households in immediate danger of being without heat. During the 2016-17 season, more than 340,000 Pennsylvania households participated in the program; and more than $33 million was distributed statewide, with individual households receiving an average of $385 towards their home heating bill.

More than 90 percent of LIHEAP recipients have at least one household member who is a child, senior or individual living with a disability, and the percentage of households with at least one veteran has grown to 20 percent.

For information on how to apply for PA LIHEAP, go here.

http://www.dhs.pa.gov/citizens/heatingassistanceliheap/index.htm

For the New Jersey program, go here.

http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/hea.html