Households Accessing Emergency Payment Services
Emergency services such as rental and utility assistance often mean the difference between being housed and homelessness. The majority of funds for energy assistance come from LIHEAP, the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. LIHEAP provides money to help low income households make home heating more affordable, avoid shutoff of utility services during the winter, and maintain a warm, safe, and healthy environment for households with young children, the elderly, and the disabled. Also included in the chart below are EFSP (Emergency Food and Shelter Program) data, administered by Associated Ministries, which provides utility assistance as well. As reported for the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2010/11, energy assistance whether measured by total number served or by total dollars has more than doubled since SFY 2007/08. The average dispersal has remained relatively unchanged ($364 in 07/08 compared to $370 in 10/11). In SFY 2010/11, over 21,000 were provided with $7,831,765 in energy assistance. |
Rental Assistance Rental assistance data is a function of the dollars available more than a measure of need. The average payment made per household in SFY2010/11 was $564. The number of households served in 2010/11 was 231, which was the lowest number served since 2002. A decrease of 37%. |
