Ninth District Opportunity Inc. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
The program serves Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union and White counties.
Appointment scheduling for elderly and homebound residents begins Nov. 1. Call 855-636-3108 or visit www.ndo.org/eap to make an appointment.
All appointments will take place at the Ninth District Opportunity office located at 615 Oak St. in Gainesville. No walk-ins are allowed.
The home heating program opens to the general public on Dec. 1.
When applying for assistance, applicants will need:
• Social Security number verification for all residents of household
• Photo identification
• Age verification
• Household income verification for past 30 days
• Most recent home heating and electric bill
Elderly and disabled/homebound residents in Hall County and across Northeast Georgia’s Ninth District can apply for assistance paying their heating bills this winter beginning Nov. 1.
The federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program distributes money to local community action agencies to cover heating bills for those in need.
Gas or electric payments are then made directly to service providers.
The program opens to the general public Dec. 1.
Nearly $500,000 was spent in 2014 to support about 1,500 Hall County households, and that figure jumped to about 1,700 residents last year, according to Community Resource Coordinator Shanna Cotton.
Cotton said she expects demand for assistance to be as high as ever this winter season.
To qualify, a family’s annual income must be less than or equal to 60 percent of the median income for a family in Georgia.
That threshold is about $22,000 for an individual and close to $49,000 for a household of five.
And depending on income and household size, qualified applicants receive between $310 and $350 to pay their bills.
Cotton said it’s important for applicants who have received assistance in past years to know that they must once again present all required identification and documents to qualify this winter.