Thursday, November 1, 2012
Help for home-heating for low-income Utahns
Posted By Stephen Dark on November 1, 2012, 11:43 AM
As of yesterday, eligible families can now apply for financial assistance for home heating and other energy costs through the Housing & Community Development Division.---
Families who earn below 150 percent of the federal poverty level—around $34,572 for a family of four—qualify for the Home Energy Assistance Target (H.E.A.T.) program, which provides an average $317 one-time annual payment.
The money can be used for heating, cooling and weatherizing homes and will be available until the end of April 2013, unless funds run out prior to that.
Last year, 41,000 low-income households received some form of assistance from the H.E.A.T. program.
"Falling temperatures put even more pressure on families as they weigh the need to turn on their furnaces," said Housing and Community Development division director Gordon Walker. "The energy subsidies we are releasing this season will help more families afford heat and avert difficult choices too many Utahns face between paying for heat and paying for other essentials, like food and medicine."
Homeless folk are not eligible to apply for cash to buy firewood this winter but, DWS spokesperson Curt Stewart says, families living in rural counties like San Juan Co., who buy firewood to heat their homes can hand in their receipts for a reimbursement from the program.
For more information, go to housing.utah.gov to find the relevant county's contact information, or dial 2-1-1.
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