The temps are dropping, but help could be on the way.
Town residents can now start applying for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), a program that helps individuals on fixed or low incomes with their heating bills. To qualify a resident has to make $1,876 per month or less for one individual or $2,454 per month or less for two individuals.
The program is available to all Albany County residents, and for those 60 or older outreach worker Jane Sanders of Bethlehem Senior Services is available to help assist applicants at Town Hall. She can be reached at 439-4955, extension 1173.
Appointments are preferred but not required, according to town officials.
Residents need to provide all of the following: proof of all household income for the four most recent weeks; rent receipt, or lease or mortgage or sewer bill; social security cards for all applicants and birth certificates for those under six; and the most recent fuel or utility bill or statement from the landlord if utilities are included.
Sanders said that applications are typically taken first-come, first-serve and that the HEAP fund is limited, so that when the funding runs out, the program has officially ended for the season. The earlier you apply, the better position you have on the list, she said.
More information on the applications can be found at www.albanycounty.com and www.townofbethlehem.org.
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