It’s mid-winter, and with winter comes paying for heat. But for families that are struggling to keep their house warm, the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program could help pay a heating bill.

“The payment’s made directly to the energy vendor on behalf of the family, and it just helps off-set all those increased costs that we see this time of year,” said Lindsey Shewmaker, Human Services Manager for the Orange County Department of Social Services.

Shewmaker said anyone is welcome to apply if he or she meets circumstances such as: an income test, reserves at or below $2,250 and that applicant must be the one responsible for the house’s heating bills.

But, not everyone knows that the program exists, or that they might be eligible for help.

“There are always families in our community that are eligible for a lot of the services we have at the department of social services who aren’t aware,” she said. “And therefore can’t take advantage.”

Any eligible household could receive the one-time vendor payment from January 1 to March 31, or until the funding runs out.

Shewmaker said she encourages anyone to apply, and apply as early as possible so that he or she can secure the funding before it runs out.

“We hope that we could meet all of the needs that Orange County has,” she said. “But we definitely encourage people to go ahead and get their applications in, and applications do take up to 30 days to process, so the earlier you get your application in, the earlier that money could be on your account.”

To apply for the program, visit one of the Orange County Department of Social Services locations in Chapel Hill or Hillsborough to fill out an application. All applicants need to bring every pay stub from the previous month, a copy of the latest bank statement, and a copy of a heating bill.

Related Stories
‹
Medicaid Expansion Starts in N.C.; Orange County Officials Share What to Do
After years of debate and months of planning a rollout across the state, Medicaid expansion is officially in effect for North Carolina.
Forecast Predicts an El Nino Winter. What Does That Mean?
Written by SETH BORENSTEIN The upcoming United States winter looks likely to be a bit low on snow and extreme cold outbreaks, with federal forecasters predicting the North to get warmer than normal and the South wetter and stormier. A strong El Nino heavily moderates and changes the storm tracks of what America is likely […]
When Should Social Workers Separate Families? A Federal Lawsuit Raises Thorny Questions
Written by STEVE LeBLANC When child welfare workers and police knocked on Sarah Perkins’ and Joshua Sabey’s front door well past midnight one weekend last summer, the parents were shocked to learn the state of Massachusetts had come to take their two young sons. It’s the kind of harrowing scene that plays out daily across […]
Donors Pledge Millions To Get Ukraine Through Winter, Bombs
Written by SYLVIE CORBET, INNA VARENYTSIA and JOHN LEICESTER Dozens of countries and international organizations threw their weight and more than 1 billion euros (dollars) in aid pledges behind an urgent new push Tuesday to keep Ukrainians powered, fed, warmed and moving as winter approaches. An international donor conference in Paris quickly racked up substantial […]
Cold and Dark: Kyiv Readies for ‘Worst Winter of Our Lives’
Written by YURAS KARMANAU and JOHN LEICESTER When the power is out, as it so often is, the high-rise apartment overlooking Ukraine’s war-torn capital feels like a deathtrap. No lights, no water, no way to cook food. And the risk of not being able to escape from the 21st floor in time should a Russian […]
Ukrainians Grapple With Power Outages as Winter Approaches
Written by SAM MEDNICK The decorative candles Yaroslav Vedmid bought more than a year ago were never meant to be lit, but the dried wax that now clings to them attests to how they’ve been used almost nightly — a consequence of power cuts across Ukraine. Seated at the dinner table with his wife in […]
Winter’s Bite Is Coming: Ukrainians Dig In for Freeze Ahead
Written by JUSTIN SPIKE Nine-year-old Artem Panchenko helps his grandmother stoke a smoky fire in a makeshift outdoor kitchen beside their nearly abandoned apartment block. The light is falling fast and they need to eat before the setting sun plunges their home into cold and darkness. Winter’s bite is coming. They can feel it in […]
Olympians Worry as ‘Winter’ Disappears From Winter Games
Written by HOWARD FENDRICH and PAT GRAHAM Ski racers settling into the start gate for Alpine World Cup events in the Rocky Mountains in early December squinted through sunshine that carried the temperature toward 50 degrees and glanced down at a course covered with pristine — and manufactured — snow. If they looked up and […]
Man Dies Outside IFC Building as Shelter Struggles with COVID, Winter Cold
January's cold snap turned deadly last week, as a person experiencing homelessness died while sleeping outside at the IFC's building in downtown Carrboro.
Biden at Capitol to Pitch $1.75T Agenda, Unite Democrats
Written by LISA MASCARO, AAMER MADHANI and ALAN FRAM President Joe Biden traveled to Capitol Hill early Thursday to make the case to House Democrats for a dramatically scaled-back domestic policy package, $1.75 trillion of social services and climate change programs the White House believes can pass the 50-50 Senate. Biden is eager to have […]
›