With demand for energy assistance spiking, Thames Valley Council for Community Action Inc. is calling for more funding to ensure people have the help they need to heat their homes this winter.

“It has gone exponential,” Deborah Monahan, TVCCA consultant who recently retired as TVCCA’s CEO, said of the demand.

She and new CEO Josh Kelly have been pushing for additional resources for the federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which in the state is referred to as the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program. It assists low- to moderate-income families with their heating bills.

In September and October, TVCCA, which is one of the local agencies in the state that processes applications for the program, received 5,300 applications, on par with the spike in applications last year, and above the 3,500 applications typically received over that time period in previous years, said Zachary St. John, energy director for TVCCA.

Last year, TVCCA received about 12,000 applications for the program ― above the 8,000 applications it typically receives ― and appears on track to reach 12,000 again this season, according to Monahan.

TVCCA said the program is open and accepting applications.

Monahan said more people are applying for help, as they face not only the price of oil, but also increased prices for food and gas.

“We’re getting a lot of new faces and new families applying,“ said St. John.

Monahan said that an infusion of federal COVID-19 relief funds had supplemented programs, but now those funds are drying up everywhere.

For example, the same family that is eligible for $1,350 in energy assistance this year, was seeing more than $5,000 in benefits two years ago, according to St. John. The awards are set by the state Department of Social Services, which administers the grant. TVCCA is looking for the additional resources so people can have more assistance.

Requests for funding

In late October, federal legislators representing Connecticut announced Connecticut was receiving about $72 million for the program. The funding sources included LIHEAP block grant funding and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, according to a news release.

The legislators for Connecticut said in statements that they will push for more funding. President Joe Biden also has requested additional funding for the LIHEAP program.

Congress still needs to decide on a federal budget, but recently approved a plan which maintains the government’s current spending for a limited period of about two months to avert a government shutdown, the Associated Press reported.

TVCCA is asking for state funds to supplement the federal funding.

In a Nov. 13 letter to the Connecticut General Assembly leadership, the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments called for the legislature to approve state funding for heating assistance, saying federal funds are “not sufficient to meet the projected demand.”

“When a family is unable to afford the cost of heat, not only is it not safe or comfortable for residents, but there is a risk that a no heat situation can cause property damage (frozen pipes, etc.) that makes a property uninhabitable. When that occurs, it is the responsibility of municipalities to pay emergency relocation costs, and is a worst-case scenario for tenants and property owners,” Amanda E. Kennedy, executive director of the council of governments wrote in the letter.

Public health, economic importance

Monahan said the program is important from a public health perspective, whether it helps a fixed-income senior or a low-income family.

A properly heated home is essential for a senior’s health and for children to be able to come home, do their homework, function well and be successful at school, she explained.

The program is also important as an economic driver, with about 70 to 80 vendors paid to deliver oil to people, she said.

“It’s keeping those businesses vital,” Monahan said. “They’re employing people in the community.”

Kelly said TVCCA is doing its best to help get clients signed up for the program and to get payments out, but without additional funds, TVCCA remains “very concerned that the most vulnerable in our community will be left without heat, and that impact may start to be felt most readily right around Christmas.”

Monahan said that even if there isn’t additional funding for the program, TVCCA will work with people to get them through the winter “in whatever way, shape or form“ it can, but TVCCA is encouraging people to reach out to their legislators about the need for funding.

More information on the program and how to sign up is available at: https://www.tvcca.org/energy-assistance/

k.drelich@theday.com