State nets $213M in federal winter heating assistance

BOSTON – Massachusetts will receive $213 million in federal fuel assistance as its share of the $5.1 billion appropriated by Congress.Release of the funds, targeted to help the state’s low-income households pay for their winter heating bills, was jointly announced Friday by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry.Congress appropriated the funds earlier this month as part of its Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for fiscal 2009. The White House released the money Friday.Residents of Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Saugus, Swampscott and Wakefield can apply for LIHEAP through Lynn Economic Opportunity’s (LEO) Fuel Assistance Program, 156 Broad St., from Oct. 20, 2008 through April 30, 2009.Eligibility is based on family size and the income of the entire household. Tenants with heat included in their rent may be eligible for benefits, depending upon the household income. Households with heat included in their rent and who are in public housing or private subsidized housing where rent is limited to a low percentage of their income may not be eligible for fuel assistance benefits. However, those tenants may be eligible for utility discounts, according to Darlene Gallant, coordinator of fuel assistance at LEO.”Last year, we had 4,200 people receiving assistance,” she said. “For the first two weeks we’ll only be taking applications from oil clients and from people who have had their utilities shut off. We want to make sure they are taken care of and then we’ll open it up to the others.”Eligibility guidelines, based on number of household members and the maximum gross household income allowed, are as follows: 1 member household, $20,800; two members, $28,000; three members, $35,200; four members, $42,400; five members, $56,800; six members, $64,000; and seven members, $71,200.Payments for fuel assistance begin in November, Gallant said.Kennedy spokesperson Melissa Wagoner said the funds will assist needy families. “The senator is very pleased that these funds are being made available now for thousands of our citizens who will be struggling to pay their heating bills as winter fast approaches,” she said. “No family should have to make impossible choices between heating their home or putting food on the table or taking a sick child to the doctor. These funds will ease that burden.”Kerry echoed his colleague. “This is welcome news for thousands of families in our state who have been struggling to make ends meet because of skyrocketing home energy prices,” he said. “With winter quickly approaching, families can rest assured that much-needed help is on its way.”For more information on obtaining fuel assistance, contact LEO at 781-581-7220, ext. 283. LEO also offers walk-in service without an appointment at its downtown Lynn office. Walk-in hours are Monday from 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday from 1-7 p.m., and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.