Arizonans get more money to help pay utility bills
by The Arizona Republic on Dec. 15, 2008, under Edge, Local, Special“A perfect storm” of economic woes is causing more people to fall behind on their utility bills, but soon Arizonans will begin pocketing their share of a $31 million federal boost in funding to help residents pay those bills.
That money is part of a $5.1 billion appropriation Congress recently targeted for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program as part of an economic stimulus effort.
The funding could not have come at a better time as people struggle through a troubled economy, said Cynthia Zwick, executive director of the Arizona Community Action Association – the state’s umbrella organization for local agencies distributing LIHEAP funds.
Last month, the U.S. lost 533,000 jobs – the biggest one-month loss in jobs in more than three decades, according to the Labor Department. As the economy spiraled the past couple of months, Zwick said, community action agencies have seen a spike in the number of people asking for utility assistance money. There are also more middle class families and individuals looking for help, she said.
“It’s just like this perfect storm . . . because lots of families are being hit by job loss, not being able to pay their rent or their mortgage is taking a toll, utility costs are soaring and they’re falling behind,” she said.
Congress responded to that need, Zwick said, by providing the largest appropriation for LIHEAP since the program was created in the 1980s and raised the program’s income limits from 150 percent of the U.S. poverty rate to 200 percent. Prior to the change, a family of four making more than $31,800 would not qualify. Now, a family of four making $42,400 qualifies, she said.
Stretching LIHEAP dollars in Arizona is difficult even without the economic slump because the program’s federal funding formula favors cold-weather states. Last year, Arizona received about $9 million for LIHEAP, compared with the average $75 million Minnesota gets yearly.
“Of all of the 50 states, including the District of Columbia, we’ve often received the least,” Zwick said.
While the $31 million still places Arizona behind other states and provides assistance for only a small percentage of those eligible, Zwick said she sees Congress’ action as a step toward helping “desperate” families.
“Before this . . . we were able to serve about 4-5 percent of eligible Arizona households, about 28,000 families (annually),” she said. “We’ll help about 50,000 additional households with this money, which is outstanding.”
The community action agencies, she said, are now tasked with spreading the word about the funds and new income limits.
“We want people to know there’s help . . . that wasn’t there before,” she said.
———
NEED HELP?
The Tucson Urban League at 2305 S. Park Ave. is responsible for distributing LIHEAP funds within the city limits. For more information, call 791-9522, press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, and then 3 for assistance programs. Press 2 for utility assistance.
The Pima County Community Action Agency at 2797 E. Ajo Way distributes LIHEAP funds in unincorporated Pima County. For more information, call 243-6688.
