MONTGOMERY, Ala.- With the first real surge of winter weather in Alabama last week, Governor Kay Ivey is awarding $37.3 million in grants to ensure that many of Alabama’s neediest families are prepared for the cold weather.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program grants, issued to 21 community service agencies throughout the state, provide funds to help eligible low-income families with home-energy-related expenses. In the winter, the program helps eligible households afford the energy required to heat their houses.
“These LIHEAP funds ensure that low-income residents, including the elderly, children and those with disabilities, do not have to endure a winter without heat,” Governor Ivey said. “Often these families are forced to weigh between having heated homes or food on the table and necessary medicine, and these funds provide much-needed assistance.”
Residents apply for assistance to local community service agencies who determine eligibility based on income, family size and available resources.
Governor Ivey awarded the grants from funds provided to the state by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants.
“At Governor Ivey’s request, ADECA’s Energy Division is making these funds available as expedient as possible so qualified families can take advantage of this program as we enter the cold season under a winter weather advisory,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said.
Below is a list of the community service agencies receiving grants, their service areas and grant amounts:
- Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama Inc. (Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale) – $1.1 million
- Community Action Partnership of Huntsville/Madison and Limestone Counties Inc. (Madison and Limestone) – $2.31 million
- Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. (Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and St. Clair) – $3.04 million
- Community Action Partnership of North Alabama Inc. (Cullman, Lawrence and Morgan) – $1.79 million
- Marion-Winston Counties Community Action Committee Inc. (Marion and Winston) – $588,062
- Community Action of Etowah County Inc. (Etowah) – $864,701
- Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun and Cleburne Counties (Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph and Talladega) – $1.49 million.
- Walker County Community Action Agency (Walker) – $629,320
- Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (Jefferson) – $3.33 million
- Community Services Program of West Alabama Inc. (Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Perry, Sumter and Tuscaloosa) – $4.32 million
- Pickens County Community Action Committee and Community Development Corp. Inc. (Pickens) – $287,068
- Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization Inc. (Hale) – $361,343
- Eleventh Area of Alabama Opportunity Action Committee Inc. (Autauga, Chilton, Elmore and Shelby) – $1.81 million
- Community Action Committee Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa (Chambers, Coosa and Tallapoosa) – $862,929
- Alabama Council on Human Relations Inc. (Lee) – $1.31 million
- Macon-Russell Community Action Agency Inc. (Macon and Russell) – $858,631
- Montgomery Community Action Agency (Montgomery) – $2.01 million
- Organized Community Action Program Inc. (Bullock, Butler, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Lowndes and Pike) – $2.33 million
- Southeast Alabama Community Action Partnership Inc. (Barbour, Coffee, Geneva, Henry and Houston) – $1.9 million
- Community Action Agency of South Alabama (Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo, Monroe and Wilcox) – $2.41 million
- Mobile Community Action Inc. (Mobile and Washington) – $3.83 million
ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, economic development, infrastructure upgrades, recreation, energy, water resources, job training and career development.