What is the purpose of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) ? LIHEAP is a federal program that helps low income households pay for heating and/or cooling their homes. In particular, LIHEAP seeks to make home energy more affordable for two groups of low income households that have the highest home energy needs: vulnerable households which include frail older individuals, individuals with disabilities, and very young children. These households face serious health risks if they do not have adequate heating or cooling in their homes. high energy burden households which include those households with the lowest incomes and highest home energy costs. These households face safety risks in trying to heat or cool their homes if they can not pay their heating or cooling fuel bills. Consequently, households with the highest home energy needs are more likely to face health and safety risks . What types of help does the Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) offer? Depending on where you live, LIHEAP may offer the following types of help: heating or cooling funds (i.e., fuel subsidies) to increase the affordability of home energy; energy crisis intervention to assist weather-related and fuel supply shortages and other household energy-related emergencies, such as utility shutoffs; and/or low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs to safely increase the efficiency of a household's use of home energy, thus lowering home energy bills and making homes more comfortable. What is the name of the LIHEAP program where I live? The program may or may not be called LIHEAP. In a number of states, it is called HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program). Other states use other variations of the federal program name or a completely different name. In most states, there is a heating or cooling component and a home energy crisis component, which also may have different program names. A number of states may also offer weatherization services. In addition, there may be other programs operated by your LIHEAP agency, local utility company, or local charity to help pay for your home heating and/or cooling costs. How can I locate the LIHEAP program where I live? Our LIHEAP Directory can help you locate the LIHEAP program in your area. The LIHEAP Directory includes information for the following LIHEAP grantees: the 50 States and the District of Columbia The Directory includes each LIHEAP coordinator name, address, and telephone number, and if available: the LIHEAP program's e-mail address public inquiry telephone numbers, many of which are in-state, toll-free telephone numbers, and LIHEAP grantee web sites. In most states, the program is administered locally by Departments of Social Services and/or nonprofit organizations such as Community Action Agencies and Area Agencies on Aging. Your LIHEAP grantee also may be able to direct you to other community resources for which you might qualify for help with your home energy bills. How can I find out if I am eligible to receive LIHEAP help LIHEAP program applications, eligibility requirements, types of program benefits, and type of local agency administering LIHEAP vary from grantee to grantee. To find out about LIHEAP eligibility and other requirements for where you live, use the LIHEAP Directory described above to contact your LIHEAP grantee by either: calling your LIHEAP coordinator, (if available, first call your state's public inquiry telephone number, as the program may be able to help you faster in obtaining information on where to apply for help locally, writing to your LIHEAP coordinator, sending an e-mail message to your LIHEAP coordinator's e-mail address if available, or visiting the LIHEAP agency's website if listed in our directory. Why can't I apply to the federal government for LIHEAP help The federal government doesn't provide help directly to the public. We provide money to our LIHEAP grantees--states, Indian tribes, and territories. They help qualified households directly. We do not have forms for applying for LIHEAP help. We do not take applications for LIHEAP help. Each LIHEAP grantee has its own application form and procedures. Therefore, you need to contact your state or tribal program to obtain a LIHEAP application. Will LIHEAP pay my whole electric, gas or oil bill LIHEAP is not intended to cover a household's residential energy costs. Also, LIHEAP is limited to help eligible households in paying their home heating and/or cooling cost. In some cases, such costs include hot water heating, refrigeration, or cooking. It does not include electricity for other uses such as lighting. In many places, you can get help only with your main heating source. For example, if you heat with gas, you might get help with your gas bill but not your electric bill, or you might get help with one bill or the other. The highest benefits are to go to those eligible low income households that have the highest home energy costs or needs, taking into account family size. The amount of help that you can receive will depend on where you live (each grantee's payment levels are different), your income, your heating or cooling cost, your family size, and possibly other factors. Because of the way the LIHEAP funds are distributed, some grantees receive more funds than others, and are able to pay higher benefits. It is unlikely that you will receive enough to pay your entire heating or cooling bill for the year, because LIHEAP is not designed to do that.