The Green Hills Community Action Agency’s Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP for short) is currently providing winter heating assistance to many households in northern Missouri. People do not need to schedule appointments or physically visit the Trenton office to begin the application process or get help with a shut off notice, just call us toll-free at 855-290-8544.
The winter program, which officially began October 1st, 2013 for the elderly or disabled, and November 1st, 2013 for all others, will help upwards of 2000 households avoid disconnection and stay warm this winter.
How does the program work? In the instance of an EA (Energy Assistance), a client visits, calls, emails, or faxes our office requesting energy assistance, completes an application, and provides all the required supporting documents requested (such as proof of income, copies of social security cards, and utility bills). Applications are categorized based on the severity of the applicant’s emergency – households with shut-off notices are given priority over those who are not in imminent danger of disconnection.
Once the paperwork is received, our processors go to work entering the required information into a state maintained computer program which calculates if the applicant qualifies and what the amount of their energy benefit will be.
Once the application is processed and verified, the LIHEAP processors at GHCAA notify the utility company with a “pledge†that the awarded EA amount will be paid. The state takes the lead from there, contacting the applicant’s utility company, who must then confirm the applicant as a customer, once confirmed, the state will cut an energy assistance check and mail it to the vendor.
ECIP (Energy Crisis Intervention Program) funds are emergency monies provided to households who have already been approved for EA and currently have a new or secondary disconnection notice.
Pledges are submitted in the case of an ECIP as well, with processors contacting utility companies mid-afternoon, generally around 3pm – 4pm. ECIP checks are then processed, cut, and mailed out by GHCAA directly to utility companies. The LIHEAP processors do their best to help each household as quickly as possible and to the best of their ability, so please be respectful when speaking with them.
What can’t this program do? As helpful as this program is, it does have some limitations, and there are several things the funding will not cover. LIHEAP funds cannot be used for:
- Deposits
- Water Bills
- Telephone Bills
If you would like to apply for energy assistance, or know anyone who might benefit from this program, please feel free to call, visit, email, or fax our office. Due to a high volume of calls and faxes during the winter months, you might not always reach a real person, but please leave a message when prompted and someone will contact you as soon as possible. To download a copy of the application directly from our website please visit our website at ghcaa.org.
Please note: incomplete applications, or applications missing required documentation, cannot be processed until everything is provided.
