DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — As energy bills continue to strain household budgets, a long-standing central Illinois program is helping families stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer without falling through the cracks.
Warm Neighbors Cool Friends, operated by the Energy Assistance Foundation, provides bill-payment assistance for moderate-income households who earn too much to qualify for traditional government programs, but still struggle to keep up with rising utility costs.
“Our foundation was established in 1982 by Illinois Power, and originally it was a weatherization program,” said Susan Sams, executive director of the Energy Assistance Foundation. “It evolved into bill-payment assistance, and now we try to target people who can’t get help anywhere else.”
Sams said the program is designed to bridge the gap for families who narrowly miss eligibility for LIHEAP, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“There shouldn’t be anybody that falls through the cracks,” she said. “If you make too much to qualify for LIHEAP, then you would probably qualify for our program.”
The foundation serves a wide range of households across Illinois, including seniors on Social Security and small pensions, working families with children, and people living paycheck to paycheck.
Eligibility is based on household income. For example, a single-person household with a monthly gross income between about $3,300 and $4,700 may qualify. A family of four can earn between roughly $6,400 and $8,000 a month and still be eligible.
“These are people who are often just one temporary financial crisis away from falling behind,” Sams said. “A car repair or a medical bill can really set them back, and then they’re forced to decide which bills they can pay and which ones they can hold off on.”
During the heating season, from October 1 through May 31, the program offers a one-time matching grant of up to $500 toward an Ameren energy bill. In the summer months, assistance continues as well.
This year, that help is expanding. Sams said Ameren has committed an additional $2 million for 2026 to support bill-payment assistance, with every dollar going directly toward customer utility bills.
“Ameren granted us an additional $2 million to be able to help with bill payment assistance,” she said. “One hundred percent of that goes directly onto Ameren customers’ bills.”
Funding for Warm Neighbors Cool Friends comes from donations, including those from Ameren employees and customers who voluntarily add a small amount to their monthly bills to help others in their community.
Residents can find local assistance agencies by visiting warmneighborscoolfriends.org and entering their ZIP code. In Macon County, Dove Financial Assistance administers the program, but services are available across much of Illinois.
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