Applications opened this week for Pennsylvania’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for 2016-17.
LIHEAP is a federally-funded program that provides assistance to low-income residents for home heating bills during the winter months. Assistance is available for renters and homeowners and crisis and regular LIHEAP grants are offered from Nov. 1 through March 31.
Regular cash grants are offered to help with home heating bills, while crisis grants are for emergency situations such as a broken furnace, Rep. Mike Hanna (D-Centre/Clinton) said in a release.
Eligibility for LIHEAP is set at 150 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. Maxim income for one person to receive the assistance is $17,820. Each additional person in a household adds $6,240 to the maximum income allowed.
“This federally funded program provided hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians a warm place to live during last winter,” said Department of Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas said in a release. “That number includes thousands of the commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens including elderly, children, and individuals living with a disability. The administration is proud of the work the program provides and encourages recipients who need assistance with heating bills to apply before the worst of the winter weather arrives.”
Applications can be completed online at www.compass.state.pa.us, or can be completed in person through local county assistance offices. The Centre County is at 2580 Park Center Boulevard, State College and can be reached by phone regarding LIHEAP at (814) 861-1955.
Interfaith Human Services also offers two Heating Assistance Programs for LIHEAP qualified Centre County residents.
