Bolinsky Votes to Authorize Low-Income Heating Assistance

HARTFORD- Last week at a joint legislative committee public hearing, State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R-106 Newtown) voted to approve a Block Grant plan for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), estimated to provide heating assistance to over 100,000 lower-income households this winter.

The program was approved unanimously by the Appropriations, Energy & Technology and Human Services Committees, and will be available to households in amounts ranging from $80 – $550 depending on income.
CEAP is designed to help offset the winter heating costs of Connecticut residents whose annual income falls at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which for a family of four means an income of $35,775 or less.

Households with higher income are eligible for the Contingency Heating Assistance Program (CHAP) if income is below 60% of state median income ($65,528 for a family of four).

Eligible applicants include seniors, persons with disabilities, or households with children under the age of six with incomes between 150 and 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Bolinsky said, “With the Connecticut economy still flat, personal incomes lagging behind inflation and folks on fixed incomes experiencing anything but fixed heating costs, it’s easy to see that a program like Heating Assistance is necessary. We need to also understand that the need exists in our community, just as it does in the urban centers. I encourage Newtown residents struggling to heat their homes to look into qualification for this assistance. I’d also like to remind everyone that it is against Connecticut law for a utility company to cut-off essential heating services during the winter months, in cases of financial hardship.”

CEAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and is available to both homeowners and renters.

The LIHEAP 2014-2015 season will officially begin on November 15, 2015, but applications are already being accepted for early intake.
The Department of Social Services, which will be administering the program, has allocated resources to protect against fraud, including the establishment of a fraud hotline.

The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program and the Contingency Heating Assistance Program are administered by the Department of Social Services and coordinated by regional Community Action Agencies, in cooperation with municipal and other non-profit human service agencies.

Community Action Agencies:

• The Community Action Committee of Danbury, Inc. (203) 748-5422
• New Opportunities, Inc. (Waterbury area) (203) 756-8151
• Community Renewal Team, Inc. (Hartford area) (860) 560-5800 or 1-800-798-3805; (Middletown area) (860) 347-4465
• New Opportunity for Greater Meriden (203) 235-0278 (sponsored by New Opportunities, Inc.)
• Community Action Agency of New Haven, Inc. (203) 387-7700
• TEAM, Inc. (Derby-Ansonia-Shelton area) (203) 736-5420
• Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc. (203) 384-6904; (also covering Norwalk/Stamford areas; phone contact number to be announced).

Rep. Bolinsky serves on the legislature’s Appropriations committee, as well as the Environment and Education Committees