John and Connie Woodruff of Springfield are two such beneficiaries. “It was enough for me to continue paying my bill because I always pay my bills. It was a habit we set when we were young,” Connie Woodruff said. “It helps me to keep it paid down for the winter so I can start fresh the next winter.”
“It relieves you of one month and allows you to get something else that you have to have,” said the retired food service supervisor. Her husband is retired from Ohio Gypsum Supply.
The base 12-month income level this year is $21,780 or less for a household of one person. To find out eligibility for a household of more than one person, add $7,640 for each person.
Assistance through the Emergency HEAP program, or E-HEAP, begins Nov. 1. To be eligible, the household must have a shut-off notice or be shut off from service. E-HEAP-eligible households will receive a one-time payment of $175 that guarantees heating service for 30 days, Wilson said.
Bulk fuel customers who heat their homes with coal, wood, fuel oil, kerosene or propane and who have no more than 25 percent or 10 days or less supply of their fuel can receive a one-time E-HEAP payment of $350 for coal and wood and $750 for oil, kerosene or propane, she said.
Telephone information and appointments for E-HEAP will be taken beginning Oct. 24 from 8 a.m. until all calls have been answered, Monday through Friday. Call (937) 325-8366.
Walk-in E-HEAP appointments will be at 3 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning Nov. 1 at the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Clark County, 10 S. Yellow Springs St. Appointments will offered to the first 10 people in line daily. No one is allowed on the OIC property until 2:50 p.m.
The regular HEAP program, which began Sept. 1, provides low-income households with a one-time payment to their primary heating vendor. Applications for HEAP are available at any county building or social service agency.
Both programs run through March 31, 2012.
A separate program helping households, Wilson said, is the Percent of Income Program for those at or below 150 percent of poverty guidelines. Assistance is set based on the household’s income level. Anything owed after a three-year period is forgiven for those eligible if they are paying the set amount on time every month, she said.
“It’s good for the people in our community who are losing their jobs or seeing decreases in pay,” Wilson said. “You can have a pretty good income and still receive assistance.”
“Between (HEAP) and the PIP plan, I can keep up on my utilities,” Woodruff said.
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