AUGUST 27, 2007

LEGISLATOR REYNOLDS ANNOUNCES START OF HEAP PROCESS, OFFERS APPLICATION ADVICE

Erie County Legislator Robert B. Reynolds Jr. (D-Hamburg, Lakeview, Blasdell) is advising residents that the mail-out of HEAP applications for senior citizen and disabled households who received heating assistance last winter and are seeking it this winter has started.

The mail-out for senior citizens and people who are disabled began August 20; senior citizens and disabled people who receive temporary assistance and/or food stamps will not receive an application because they do not need to apply through the mail. These people will have their benefits calculated and placed on their heating bill automatically in December or January. People are encouraged to mail in their applications as soon as possible.

Legislator Reynolds noted that utility companies will not be notified of benefit approval amounts until the day the season formally starts, which is expected to be in early November. The Erie County Department of Social Services will start the process of notifying these companies of approvals and will release benefit funds the same day. People facing shutoff situations must make arrangements to address the issue until HEAP formally opens.

According to Legislator Reynolds, HEAP benefits are not based on the balance of applicants' heating bills, but on their monthly income, and people should not wait until the colder months arrive to apply for their benefits. Applicants can also used identical income information as they submitted the previous year if updated information is not available, as long as it is accurate and the most current available. If two benefit amounts are listed on recipients' Social Security award letters, the lowest amount is to be claimed.

People who received HEAP benefits last year and do not receive an application automatically by September 7, 2007, should call the Department of Social Services at 858-7870, to request an application be mailed to them.

By household size, these are the 2007-2008 HEAP 2007-2008 income eligibility guidelines:

For more information, people can contact the Senior Services Information and Assistance at 858-8526, or visit the department's link on the county's web site, www.erie.gov.

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