Residents Clamor For HEAP & Emergency HEAP Assistance
Monday was the first day eligible residents could apply to the Home Energy Assistance Program for as much as $2,500 toward winter heating costs.
People were lined up in the parking lot of Opportunities For Otsego before the agency opened at 8 a.m., a spokeswoman said Monday afternoon.
"We already have people in emergency situations with no fuel oil," the spokeswoman said. "The phones have been ringing off the wall all day with people calling to make appointments."
In Delaware County, the 6,000 or so people who are registered for public assistance or food stamps are automatically signed up for HEAP, Social Services Commissioner Bill Moon said Monday.
Moon said anyone younger than 60 who does not receive other benefits registers for HEAP through Delaware Opportunities, and those older 60 may sign up through the Office for the Aging.
Gov. David Paterson on Monday highlighted recent changes to HEAP, including an expansion in income-eligibility requirements for New Yorkers facing an energy emergency. Additionally, Paterson announced an agreement between the state and utility companies, which will allow customers to pay their energy bills and keep service in place using HEAP money.
The changes include a one-time federal authorization to increase the income eligibility for HEAP emergency benefits from $45,312 to $56,635 for a family of four. That increase is effective Jan. 1.
Those who may be eligible for HEAP emergency assistance include: Income-eligible households without heating fuel; those running low on fuel; and those that have heat-related utility service disconnected or scheduled for disconnection
New York state has received $550.9 million in federal HEAP funding, which has enabled the state to allow for those earning more to qualify for an emergency benefit, while also making available a second emergency benefit for those most in need. HEAP is administered in New York by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
NY Home Energy Assistance Program
Nice to see that they've raised the total benefits and widened the income eligibility qualifications.
