Utility assistance program now taking appointments
St. Mary/Vermilion Community Action Agency, 1407 Barrow St. in Franklin, is accepting appointments for the Liheap Utility Assistance Program, Almetra J. Franklin, CEO for St. Mary/Vermilion Community action agency said in a news release.
“We would like to announce we are promoting several utility assistance programs to help households in distress due to the high cost of light and gas bills. A household can apply for all of the services provided that they are eligible to receive,” Franklin said.
The Liheap Utility Assistance Program will begin accepting appointments 8:30 a.m.-noon Sept. 5.
To make an appointment, call 337-828-5703. No walk-ins will be accepted.
Eligibility for this service is once every six months, provided there are funds available.
The agency will also be accepting applications for the Crisis Assistance Program. This program is to help households whose lights or gas bills are turned off or threatened to be disconnected due to no other means of payment. A crisis exists when a household’s energy source for heating and/or cooling has been disconnected or scheduled for disconnection and the residents are faced with a health and/or medical safety risk (risk must be documented) or experiencing a social or economic hardship (income and basic living expenses must be considered).
A crisis also exists for weather-related and emergency shortages declared by state and federal government.
To apply for assistance programs the applicant must have current proof of income (examples: last 4 consecutive paystubs, award letters, food stamp printout from last 30 days), unexpired driver’s license or state identification with same address as the service address for applicant, social security cards for everyone in household, one to six months of gas and/or electric bills (actual bills or printout), proof of residence with a document that has name and physical address on it (examples: tax bill, voter registration card, insurance bill, cable, telephone, credit card, or medical bill).
If all information isn’t provided, the application will not be accepted.
The income guideline is based on number of household members and monthly income. A household of 1 is $1,948, 2 is $2,547, 3 is $3,146, 4 is $3,745 and 5 is $4,345.