PA Sees Record LIHEAP Applications

November 15--“It’s really kind of an onslaught of people,” said Gene Brady, executive director of the Luzerne County Commission on Economic Opportunity , which processes Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program grants for residents of Luzerne and Wyoming counties.

“This will probably be our busiest year ever,” said Fred Lettieri, executive director of the Scranton-Lackawanna Human Development Agency.

The upswing reflects liberalized eligibility for the program, rising unemployment and the economic crisis.

The state, which has increased the grant total to $280 million from $148 million last year, also raised the qualification ceiling to 210 percent of the federal poverty level from 150 percent in 2007. This year, a family of four with a household income of more than $44,000 qualifies, and last year the same size family with an income of $31,000 was disqualified, said Stacy Witalec of the Department of Public Welfare.

“In the first week of the program, our approvals of applications were up fivefold,” she said.

“A lot of people who fell through the cracks last year are eligible this year,” said Mr. Lettieri.

Source: Times Tribune, Scranton , PA

Page Last Updated: September 24, 2009