House cold? The county is here to help

By Aidan Dusenbury-Dalto | Manor Ink

Liberty, NY – The steadily rising cost of keeping homes warm in the winter has many Sullivan County residents feeling a chill. Though we are heading into the warmer spring months, there are still plenty of cold nights ahead. For those who are struggling to keep warm, the county can help. Manor Ink spoke with Giselle Steketee, director of Temporary Assistance and Rosie Wolff, HEAP coordinator, at Sullivan County Human Services in Liberty to learn how the county is helping low income families handle the increased cost of heating fuel.

“HEAP stands for Heating Energy Assistance Program,” Steketee explained. “It’s a supplemental program helping low income working and unemployed families afford their heating bills in the cold winter months.” So far, through the end of February, HEAP has processed 516 applications, giving out over $5 million in aid directly to local households. Additional aid was provided to some households for furnace repairs, replacements and cleaning.

Wolff explained that increased unemployment benefits and other COVID-related support payments led to only a somewhat modest increase in applications for heating help compared to prior years, but that the recent increase of fuel prices has resulted in a “panic for extended benefits.”

For context, according to the state’s NYSERDA website, the cost of home heating oil has increased 66.7 percent from March 2021 to March of this year in the Lower Hudson region. To offset the rise, New York authorized an additional emergency benefit of up to $300 in February for eligible families.

But the average annual benefit paid to supported households has been $965, which would only buy about 200 gallons of home heating oil at current prices. Most households need 500 to 1,000 gallons of oil during the cold season. Wolff attributed the increase primarily to the sanctions recently enacted on Russian oil “which has pushed the price to the highest we have ever seen.”

In addition to the support for heat, Steketee said that the county will also help eligible families pay delinquent electricity bills, with over $1.2 million having been paid to ensure continuation of electrical services to residents. The county also has a program to aid with payment of water and sewer services for a smaller number of households.

The county also has a summer cooling aid program for people who have a medical condition that is exacerbated by heat and humidity. Under this program, an official will come to the applicant’s residence and determine the size of an air conditioner required to cool one main room. The county then pays for the unit’s purchase.

The total cost of these programs is $5.5 million, money that comes principally from the federal government, but is administered on the state and county level. For more information or to apply, visit sullivanny.us or call the county’s offices in Liberty at 807-0142.