St. Bernard Parish's Department of Housing and Redevelopment has announced the availability of funds to assist eligible low-income St. Bernard households with energy payments. But the department specifies that residents must call to set up appointments and walk-ins are not welcome.
That change in procedure is in response to the thousands who flocked last week to sign up for the St. Bernard Parish housing voucher wait list. Among the hordes of people, several were arrested when fights erupted after some pushed and shoved each other to get ahead in line.
For the energy assistance program, St. Bernard residents can only begin calling for appointments next Friday, Jan. 25. Special attention typically is given to households with members over 60 years of age, household members with disabilities and households with children age five and under.
The Louisiana Community Action Partners' Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program is funding the program. It is administered in partnership with the Louisiana Housing Corporation and is available in every parish in Louisiana To find your local assistance agency, click here, or visit http://www.lacapinc.org/agencies/.
The exact amount of money available for the program still is unknown as the contract with the parish is not yet finalized, according to Pamela Wegener, who coordinates the program for the parish.
No one can apply who has already received energy assistance through the program in the last six month, or if they have applied for crisis assistance - help after their electricity was disconnected - in the last 12 months.
The program only is for energy bill assistance, and is not for water bills, Wegener specifies.
Applicants may call to schedule an appointment beginning 8:30 a.m. Jan. 25 by calling 504.278.4468, and appointments will be set on a first-come, first-serve basis for times between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
On Feb. 25, available funding will be assessed and a second phase of appointments likely will be made available.
To be eligible for the program, a household has to have a total monthly income that is below certain low-income thresholds - such as below $1,719 a month for a one-person household, or below $3,305 for a family of four. All the income requirements can be seen by clicking here, or visiting www.lacapinc.org/programs/liheap.
Those interested will be asked to fill out an application and provide various documents, including a copy of their diver's license; social security cards for all members of their household, proof of income for all members of their household with any type of income and anyone in the household who is over 18 years old; a copy of the energy bill; and a current award letter for food stamps and current Housing Choice Voucher Program utility allowance, if applicable.
Source: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/st_bernard_parish_announces_en.html
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