BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We have to pick and choose what we’re gonna do. Are we gonna eat this week? Are we gonna service the AC?” said Joy Leon, a mother of six and grandmother of eight.
She says that the cost of bills, groceries, and repairs was just too much.
That is, until she found a program that lent a helping hand– Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.
“Within like a 2- to 3- month span, they came out, they assessed the house,” said Leon. “The gentlemen were very nice. They walked through the whole house. They fixed some of the light fixtures, they replaced the stove, the range, they put padding and back of the light fixture so that the air doesn’t go through so it can save on PG&E. The heat bill… went through maybe two months and it was credited to our account.”
Freddy Hernandez, the director of Youth and Community Services at CapK, says last year, the program assisted about 8,000 residents with utility bills and 1,000 with weatherization services.
“The first phase, it helps people pay their utility bills as well as propane, wood, and gas. And the second phase is it weatherizes people’s homes,” said Hernandez.
He adds that LIHEAP is offered year-round, based on federal funding.
While the weatherization phase is no longer taking applications for the year, applications for the utility assistance portion are still open.
However, there are qualifications you must meet.
“We’re grateful for the program and we hope it continues because there’s such a need for it in the community,” said Leon. “Not just for me with a disabled child, even other people that have disabled people that can’t replace it. ”
Call 2-1-1 to see if you are eligible.
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