The Green Hills Community Action Agency’s Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program is currently providing heating help to many households in northern Missouri.
The winter program, which officially began Oct. 1 for the elderly or disabled, and will start Nov. 1 for all others, has already provided energy assistance funding to over 1,000 households in need, helping them stay warm and avoid heating or electrical disconnections.
People do not need to schedule appointments to begin this process. Instead they can call the CAA office at 855-290-8544. In the instance of an energy assistance, a client visits, calls, emails or faxes the office requesting energy assistance, completes an application, and provides the required supporting documents (such as proof of income, copies of social security cards, and utility bills). Applications are categorized based on the severity of the applicant’s emergency. Households with shutoff notices are given priority over those who are not in imminent danger of disconnection.
Once the application is processed and verified, the LIHEAP processors at GHCAA notify the utility company with a “pledge” that the awarded EA amount will be paid. The state contacts the applicant’s utility company, who must then confirm the applicant as a customer. Once confirmed, the state will cut an energy assistance check and mail it to the vendor.
Energy Crisis Intervention Program funds are emergency monies provided to households who have already been approved for EA and currently have a new or secondary disconnection notice.
Pledges are submitted in the case of an ECIP as well, with processors contacting utility companies mid-afternoon, generally around 3 to 4 p.m. ECIP checks are then processed and mailed out by GHCAA directly to utility companies.
There are several things the funding will not cover. LIHEAP funds cannot be used for deposits, water bills or telephone bills.
Persons who would like to apply for energy assistance, or know anyone who might benefit from this program can call, visit, email or fax the CAA office.
The agency will be mailing out energy assistance applications (for those households who are eligible to apply Nov. 1, where everyone is under age 60 and/or not receiving disability) the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 31. Persons who received help with their utilities through CAA last year should receive one of these applications automatically in the mail within the next few weeks unless the beneficiary has moved within the past year. To download a copy of the application, persons can go to the website, ghcaa.org.
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