With dropping temperatures, efforts underway to expand heating assistance

“In our community, the program is very important,” said Mortenson, support specialist for KOOTASCA Community Action. “We’re seeing people we haven’t seen before, which doesn’t mean they qualify but it does mean they do need the help. We have people who need crisis funding right off the bat because they’re already disconnected (from heating utilities) because they were cut off last year, and they’re in a no-heat situation and we try to help them before they get to that point.”

Mortenson said LIHEAP is one of KOOTASCA’s biggest programs and heating assistance funding concerns come up every year.

“It seems like every year the funding seems to be on the edge, where we’re not sure what it will be like and how much will come through,” she said. Last year, KOOTASCA ran out of LIHEAP funds in November, after which another round of funding was released, which again ran out, she said, forcing another grant to be released.

“We try to help more families every year because more families need it, but it in turn cuts into the grant, so grants are sometimes smaller than would normally be to families,” she said. “It’s tough when prices are going up, and we’re helping more people with less funding.”

KOOTASCA partners with The Salvation Army in its Heat Share funding program, which is often available prior to LIHEAP funding, she said. “People come in September with shut-off notices and we turn them over to The Salvation Army, then we get our funding later,” she said.

Franken said it’s heartbreaking to know that high energy bills are forcing some Minnesotans to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table. “Heating assistance provides families and seniors with the critical help they need to stay warm during harsh Minnesota winters and I am urging the president to make more of this vital funding available,” he stated.

“As winter sets in, no family should face the choice between buying groceries and heating their home,” Klobuchar said. “For many Minnesotans, LIHEAP funding is critical to ensuring that they can keep the heat on and their homes safe, and we need to ensure that this program doesn’t leave anyone out in the cold.”

Mortenson said applying for the program is simple and can be done online at www.kootasca.org, click the section for energy assistance. People may also print an application from the website. Applications are only required once a year. She said people may also pick up an application at the KOOTASCA office at 2232 Second Ave. E., or may call the office at 283-9491 or toll free at 800-559-9491 to have an application sent to them.

Since taking office, Sen. Franken has successfully fought to ensure that tens of millions of dollars in emergency LIHEAP funding have been available to low-income Minnesota families and seniors.

In October, Klobuchar sent a bipartisan letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, requesting that LIHEAP funding should be released as quickly and at the highest level possible this winter. Klobuchar has successfully fought to ensure that tens of millions of dollars in emergency LIHEAP funding have been available to Minnesota families and seniors.

The letter asks Obama to prioritize the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal by including no less than $4.7 billion for this critical support for the least fortunate.

According to the letter, LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing vital assistance during both the cold winter and hot summer months.

“Energy costs are challenging for the budgets of American households,” said the 39 senators in the letter. “In fact, according to a recent Energy Information Administration report, household expenditures this winter for heating oil and natural gas are projected to increase by 19 percent and 15 percent respectively. While this constrains middle-income households, it disproportionately affects low-income households, many of which are seniors and on fixed incomes. Moreover, with Social Security benefits increasing by only 1.7 percent this year, or an average of $19 per month, many elderly Americans will be facing difficult choices to simply provide a basic level of comfort in their home.”

While the letter acknowledges the challenges that the federal discretionary budget faces in FY14, “we are deeply concerned that funding for the program has declined 32 percent in recent years to $3.47 billion last year at the same time the number of households eligible for the program continues to exceed those receiving assistance. As a result, we urge you to reprioritize this program within your FY14 budget and restore funding to this indispensable program to a level of $4.7 billion.”