Low income energy assistance in Massachusetts…Are you having trouble paying bills? Just barely making your rent payments due to a low paying job? Are you so much in debt that you are considering resorting to bankruptcy? Letting unpaid debt ruin your life is unfortunately becoming a quickly rising problem for members of all ages, nationalities and even economical status in the US. It is something that seems to creep up on people when they don’t even see it happening and before they know it, their debt has consumed them. With credit card companies luring us in with their always-a-catch-involved cheap rate deals, insurance of all types on the rise, and medical bills that are often times unexpected, our bank accounts drain in large chunks. And then of course, the cost of living seems to skyrocket so fast that no matter where one decides to live in the US, the deal he or she gets on the new apartment or house can waver dramatically depending on simply which way the wind blows that day. But for some people, paying bills is the most prominent stressor in their daily life. Some people go each month trying to choose between feeding themselves and heating their home. Frightening? Yes. Unsolvable? No.
Luckily for those people, the ones who struggle to squeeze every cent out of their paycheck to pay for their $20 electric bill, the ones who save up found pennies for the subway, and other low income citizens, there actually is financial help out there. And believe it or not it is extremely easy to get. And even more surprising perhaps is the fact that at least for Massachusetts residents, it is the companies who bill you who are most willing to help. It is them, the local government and some nonprofits, primarily. It is just unfortunate that many people who are eligible for help don’t know it’s there.
What might be surprising to some is that there does exist a Massachusetts’s initiative to assist low income families and individuals with paying their utilities this winter. The resource is known as Energy Bucks and the organization is basically a diverse team of electric, gas and energy company sponsors, community action committees, nonprofit organizations and state agencies who work together to help promote the various forms of fuel assistance and utility bill help that are available. The organization is primarily overseen by MASSCAP (Massachusetts Association for Community Action) and Low-Income Energy Affordability network (LEAN). The energy bucks program is strongly supported by Senators John Kerry and Joan Menard.
The Energy Bucks Initiative provides many resources to help limited income families pay for a variety of their financial burdens and information about all of them can be found at the Massachusetts or Boston government website. Though those sites contain information about a variety of different types of financial assistance, for now we will focus on the assistance available to eligible residence for their heat and electric bills. The industry term for this programs, predictably is simply referred to universally as the Fuel Assistance program. Help with your oil, gas, and/or electricity can be obtained a variety of different ways. Below are a few of them broken down and explained.
Government Aided Fuel Assistance
The Fuel Assistance Program is technically named after LIHEAP, which stands for Low income Home Energy Assistance Programs (CAP), which have offices located in each town or major neighborhood. These offices, which have been established for 30 years now by the Department of Housing and Community Development, provide help with energy bills, gas bills, oil bills, and even rent if your energy or heat is included in your monthly payment. They also will take care of any household repairs or energy wasting appliances that may be causing your bill to be higher than it should be. This is referred to as weatherization. For instance, if you have a door that tends to swing open and let cold air inside, your local CAP office will send someone out to fix it, often completely free of charge. CAP offices are basically community resource centers where residents can go to seek out information on a variety of assistance programs, not limited to fuel assistance. What will happen once you meet with them is that they will advocate for you to receive utility assistance and will be a great point of contact for you for as long as you need them. You will need to call your appropriate neighborhood CAP office to set up an interview to apply for Fuel Assistance. (To be eligible for LIHEAP Fuel Assistance, you must have an annual income of up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level or $40,000 for a family of four. Here is the 2006-2007 LIHEAP Massachusetts Fuel Assistance Income Eligibility Chart as established by the government. http://www.mass.gov/dhcd/components/cs/1PrgApps/LIHEAP/chart07.pdf
The receptionist will match you up with an agency employee to serve as your advocate, much like a case worker. Remember, now that winter is here, (even though it still hasn’t snowed!) these employees handle hundreds of applications a week, so it is important to not only expect some wait time before you can get an appointment but also to be prepared and polite once you get there. The more you help them out, the more effort they will likely put into making sure you get the best results possible according to your request.
To determine which office is closest to your place of residence, you may call the toll free number known as the Heatline at 1-800-632-8175 or reference the list of agencies by town/city at the end of this article.
Discounts on Utilities
Along with or instead of (depending on your eligibility for either program) the traditional LIHEAP Fuel Assistance programs through the Community Action Program agencies, families or individual residents in need may also receive help with utility bills directly from the utility companies themselves. Next time you receive a gas, oil, or energy bill, review it closely. Usually on the back or on a separate pamphlet tucked in the envelope with the bill, will be a statement along the lines of “You may be eligible for assistance with this bill.” It should give you a number to call. The rules as far as eligibility tend to vary from company to company but the one that remains true is that whoever is applying for the assistance must be on the bill. It is alright if they are jointly listed on the account, but if you are the one planning to apply and your name isn’t already on it, you might want to call and have it added, as this will be the first step the company will require you to take.
Alternative Resources
Aside from traditional, state regulated and/or funded fuel assistance and help paying utility bills, low income families have many other options. There are tons of non profits out there that collect funds to help specifically with energy costs and utility bills for people in need of financial assistance. Eligibility requirements vary among organizations but a major positive is that there seems to be no limit as to how many assistance resources one can utilize at one time. Just because you are eligible for the LIHEAP fuel assistance through your local CAP office, it does not disqualify you from getting alternate funds from, a place like, say, the Salvation Army, for instance. Basically, the organizations that fall under these categories tend to be nonprofits that operate with a large spectrum of community goals in mind. So, as utility assistance is not necessarily their priority on a daily basis, the availability of funds is often unpredictable. So is, then, the amount they are able to give. Most of the places work on a first come first serve basis, which basically requires individuals to call in and check as often as possible to inquire about available funds. The typical consensus among these organizations is that the funds show up randomly, they never know when they are coming and once they are there, they give them to whoever calls at the right time. So while I encourage you to explore these options to obtain as much fuel assistance as you can, you might be prepared to wait quite awhile. One great benefit of calling around though is that you will probably find that with each contact you speak to, you end the call with a paper pad full of fresh new resources to call who might be able to help instead. So even though this alternative source of funds may be a bit tedious and feel like a waste of time, you never know when you are going to get lucky and who can argue with more numbers of people who want to help? Here is a brief list of some independent fuel assistance resources you may want to look into.
Good Neighbor Energy Fundhttp://www.magoodneighbor.org/
Citizens Energyhttp://www.citizensenergy.com/
Mass Savehttp://www.masssave.com/
Energy Starhttp://www.myenergystar.com/
City Mission 617-742-6830
Try all of these sources and if funds are unavailable, keep trying. And do not forget to ask questions or seek leads to other programs.
Finally, before you embark on your fuel assistance search, it is important to note that the Massachusetts government, utility and non profit resources discussed continually express and prove a genuine desire to help their fellow Massachusetts residents who need help paying bills. Though the various sources of fuel assistance are slightly different in scope, purpose and requirements, one should keep in mind that they all appear to work as a dedicated team. This does not seem to be an area where competition among agencies or fuel assistant sources is a problem, as it certainly isn’t necessary. Therefore, chances are very likely that if one source is unable to help, they will refer you to at least one or two other places to try. So check out as many resources as you can, ask all the questions you need, and never at any point feel you need to hold back due to embarrassment or shame at your financial situation. These people deal with these issues for a career and you will find that they are not only consistently nonjudgmental, but if you talk long enough to let them, they’ll utilize as much effort to help you as they would a close friend or kin.
As promised, below is the list of Community Action Program (CAP) offices to apply for fuel assistance and help with utility bills according to your residential location:
Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD)
178 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 357-6012
Action, Inc.
47 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
(978) 281-3900
1-800-696-9276
Berkshire Community Action Council, Inc. (BCAC)
1531 East St., Pittsfield, MA 02101
(413) 445-4503 – Pittsfield
(413) 663-3014 – North Adams
(413) 528-1947 – Great Barrington
1-866-216-6100 – Toll Free
Community Action, Inc. (CAI)
25 Locust St., Haverhill, MA 01832
(978) 373-1971 – Haverhill
1-800-332-9004 – Toll Free
City of Cambridge, Department of Human Services
51 Inman St., Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 349-6252
Community Action Program Intercity, Inc. (CAPIC)
100 Everett St., Unit 14, Chelsea, MA 02150
(617) 884-6130
Citizens for Citizens (CFC)
264 Griffin St., Fall River, MA 02724
(508) 679-0041 – Fall River
(508) 823-6346 – Taunton
(508) 676-7397 – Information
Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI)
517 Moody Street, Lowell, MA 01854
(978) 459-6161 – Lowell
(781) 643-2358 – Arlington
1-877-451-1082 – Toll Free
Community Action of the Franklin Hampshire &
No. Quabbin Regions, Inc.
377 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301
(413) 774-2310
1-800-370-0940 – Toll Free
Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Inc. (GLCAC)
305 Essex St., Lawrence, MA 01840
(978) 681-4950 – Lawrence
(781) 942-9061 – Reading
(978) 664-6011 – No. Reading
Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC)
460 West Main Street, Hyannis, MA 02601
(508) 790-7106, ext. 1
Lynn Economic Opportunity, Inc . (LEO)
156 Broad St., Lynn, MA 01901
(718) 581-7220, ext. 283
Menotomy Weatherization
20 Academy Street, Suite 202, Arlington, MA 02476
(781) 316-3436
Montachusett Opportunity Council, Inc. (MOC)
Energy & Environmental Services
52 Hartwell St., Fitchburg, MA 01420
(978) 342-7025
New England Farm Workers Council (NEFWC)
(City of Springfield, only)
1666 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 272-2209
New England Farm Workers Council (NEFWC)
(No. Central Massachusetts only)
435 Main Street, Suite 3040, Fitchburg, MA 01420
(978) 342-4520
North Shore Community Action Programs, Inc. (NSCAP)
98 Main St., Peabody, MA 01960
(978) 531-8810 – Information only
(978) 531-0767, ext. 136
People Action in Community Endeavor Inc. (PACE)
166 Williams St., New Bedford, MA 02742
(508) 999-9920
Quincy Community Action Programs, Inc. (QCAP)
1509 Hancock Street, 3rdFloor, Quincy, MA 02169
(617) 479-8181, ext. 101
Springfield Partners for Community Action, Inc. (SPCA)
619 State St., Springfield, MA 01109
(413) 263-6538
Self Help, Inc. (SHI)
1362 Main St., Brockton, MA 02301
(508) 226-4192 – Attleboro
(508) 588-5440 – Brockton
1-800-225-0875 – Toll Free
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc. (SMOC)
300 Howard St., Framingham, MA 01701
(508) 620-1230 – Framingham
1-800-286-6776 – Toll Free outside Framingham
City of Springfield, Office of Community Development
1600 East Columbus Ave., Springfield, MA 01103
(413) 787-6500
So. Shore Community Action Council, Inc. (SSCAC)
265 So. Meadow Road, Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 746-6707
(508) 778-0870 – Hyannis (Nov – April)
1-877-383-5243 – Toll Free (for only those areas where
Plymouth is a toll call)
Tri-City Community Action Programs, Inc. (TRICAP)
341A Forest Street, Malden, MA 02148
(781) 322-6284
Valley Opportunity Council (VOC)
300 High St., Holyoke, MA 01040
(413) 552-1548
Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. (WCAC)
484 Main St., 2nd Floor, Worcester, MA 01608
(508) 754-1176 ext.110 – Worcester
