Apply for HEAP benefits on Nov. 2 and keep your home warm this winter

Assemblyman Colton:
HEAP helps vulnerable households meet their home-heating needs

The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is a federally funded program that issues financial assistance to lower income families and senior citizens to help with a household’s heating costs.

Regular benefit applications are being mailed to all households that received a HEAP benefit in 2008-09. In addition, HEAP applications for households that did not receive a HEAP benefit last year will be made available on Nov. 2.

Regular HEAP benefits are based on income, the primary fuel source – such as oil, gas, propane or kerosene, and number of household members who are under the age of 6 or age 60 and older, or who are permanently disabled.

HEAP also provides emergency benefits to New Yorkers who are facing a heat or heat-related energy emergency and do not have the resources available to resolve the crisis. The emergency benefit component of the 2009-10 HEAP program will also open on Nov. 2, and emergency HEAP applications will also become available at that time.

For more information about HEAP, including how to apply:

Call the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s (OTDA) toll-free hotline at (800) 342-3009, or visit the OTDA Web site at www.otda.state.ny.us/main/heap/.

To find out if you are eligible for HEAP assistance, visit www.myBenefits.ny.gov.

Assemblyman William Colton
Assemblyman
William Colton

155 Kings Highway
Brooklyn, NY 11223-1026
718-236-1598
coltonw@assembly.state.ny.us
“During the cold winter months, it’s critical that every home has adequate heat. I am committed to ensuring that seniors on fixed incomes and working families struggling to make ends meet don’t have to choose between paying for necessary prescription medicines, putting food on the table or heating their homes. That’s why I’m urging all eligible households to apply for HEAP on Nov. 2.”

– Assemblyman Colton


Interested in making your home more energy efficient?

The state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) offer services to assist residents in making energy-efficient improvements to their homes to further reduce their energy costs. For more information, contact DHCR at 1-866-ASK-DHCR or NYSERDA at 1-866-NYSERDA.


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