Community Connection

Low Income Energy Assistance

Low Income Energy Assistance (LIEAP) is an annual Federal program that is handed down to the states in block grants. The state then divides the money based upon population and makes it available to the appropriate agencies within the counties. Community Connection is pleased to administer this program for Union, Baker, Wallowa and Grant counties of eastern, Oregon.

This year (beginning October 2002 and ending September 2003) the bulk of the funding was held up in Washington. Typically, we are winding the entire program down by January, however, this year we were just beginning our families with children age 5 and under priority list.

 

LIEAP is the most flexible energy assistance money we will have all year long. It can cover electricity, natural gas, wood, propane or heating oil. It also features the most generous financial eligibility matrix of any program we offer. Check out your household composition against the chart below to see if you qualify.
 

Household Size

Maximum Monthly Income

  
 
1
$1,516.17
  
 
2
$1,982.75
  
 
3
$2,449.25
  
 
4
$2,915.75
  
 
5
$3,382.25
  
 
6
$3,848.75
  
 
7
$3,936.25
  
 
8
$4,023.67
  
 
9
$4,111.17
  
 
10
$4,198.67
  
 
11
$4,286.17
  
 
12
$4,373.67
  

The priorities for Low Income Energy Assistance are...

  1. Seniors and persons with disabilities
      1. Seniors are defined as anyone age 60 or over on the day of intake
      2. An applicant may generally be said to have a disability if
        1. He or she is an SSI / SSD recipient
        2. He or she is receiving a workman's compensation claim
        3. He or she can present a letter signed by a doctor confirmation of the disability claimed.
  2. Families with Children Age 5 or under
  3. General Public (not fitting into the categories above)

Seniors and persons with disabilities who received this program last year and have not had a change in their household composition or address are processed through the mail at the beginning of each cycle. These families DO NOT need to come into the office for an appointment to do intake. They simply fill out the form we send and return it (with appropriate attachments) to receive funding.

If you believe that you are eligible based on the information on this page, call us today to get on the waiting list. A friendly representative is waiting to answer your questions at (541) 963-7532.

On the day that your LIEAP appointment is scheduled, there are a few things we will need you to bring in order to process your application. They are...

  • Proof of income for everyone in your household for the last 30 days
  • Social Security numbers for everyone in your household
  • Most recent energy bills (if available)
  • Receipts for any wood you have purchased since October of 2002

PLEASE BE AWARE!!

LIEAP is not intended to be an emergency assistance program. While some vendors (such as Avista Utilities and some local propane or heating oil providers) may accept a copy of your LIEAP application to prevent disconnect or fuel shortages, other (like Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative) will not. You should do your best to keep your energy bills current while you are waiting for your LIEAP payment to prevent interruption of service.

Your application will not be approved the day we do intake. It will be forwarded to a Program Director at our Administration Office to be reviewed, approved and filed with the state. Once the application has been approved, we have 45 days to get the check to the vendor. It could be as long as 60 days from your appointment before the vendor gets paid. For this reason it is important for you to keep your account current.
UPDATE!!
The first week of February 2003 we received our follow up allocation out of the Fed's to administer this program. We will be working as quickly as possible through our Families with Children 5 and Under waiting list. If this is you (or if you are a general public applicant), call and get on our waiting list today!!










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