Sangamon County, Ill. - Sangamon County Community Resources will begin scheduling Summer Energy Assistance Program appointments Wednesday, July 11, 2012 by calling 535-3120. Appointments will begin on Thursday, July 12 and continue until July 27 or when funds are exhausted. The LIHEAP Summer Assistance Program is targeted to at-risk households, defined as seniors 60 years or over, persons receiving social security disability benefits or with a pending determination case at the SSA. Required documentation must include a letter of determination from the SSA or a receipt of social security benefit statement. Also eligible are households with children less than 5 years of age as of the date of application, and those with medical conditions that would be aggravated by extreme heat who have a doctor's letter on letterhead signed by the doctor within the last ninety days, stating that the medical condition would be aggravated by extreme heat.
The focus of the LIHEAP Summer Assistance Program is electric service. The program's benefits are payments to electric providers of $150.
Callers are not eligible for appointments if :
- Enrolled in the Percent of Income payment plan (PIPP).
- utilities are included in the rent or in someone else's name who is not in the household. No cash payments for renters who do not have utility accounts.
- Electric utility already shut off.
- Are not either a senior, disabled, have children under 5 years, or have a signed doctor letter dated with in the last 30 days stating the medical condition will be aggravated by extreme heat.
- late for appointments. Applicants can not be seen due to the volume of paperwork that requires time for processing.
The electric bills must be in the applicants' names or another adult member of the household.
No benefit summaries will be available to take to the utilities. Applicants must wait for their letter from the State of Illinois DCEO.
Documents required at time of appointment are:
- Social Security Cards for everyone in the household
- Income from all sources in the past 30 days or denial letter from DHS or Employment Security (Unemployment)
- Medical Cards
- Current Electric Bill
Income Guidelines for LIHEAP and LIHEAP PIPP
2012-2013
Family Size 30-Day Income Annual Income
1 $1,396 $16,755
2 $1,891 $22,695
3 $2,386 $28,635
4 $2,881 $34,575
5 $3,376 $40,515
For each additional member, add $495.00 to 30-Day and $5,940 to annual amounts.
Keep Cool Centers are located at DHS offices throughout the state and will be open to the public during regular business hours for anyone seeking refuge from the heat. In Springfield, cooling centers can be found 100 S. Martin Luther King Drive. More information on the state's cooling centers is available by calling the DHS toll-free hotline (1-800-843-6154) or locations can be found by zip code online at end_of_the_skype_highlightingwww.keepcool.illinois.gov.
To qualify, at-risk households must have incomes equal of less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level as defined in the 2012 HHS Poverty Guidelines:
