ATLANTA — After advocates warned funding to help low-income families pay for their heating bills could be at risk in the wake of the government shut down, billions of dollars were released to states.
The funding is for LIHEAP, the Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program.
Last week, Channel 2 Action News reported when a coalition of Georgia agencies said they were concerned there would be delays in program assistance and other issues due to the recent government shutdown, with program guidance pending at the time.
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On Friday, the funding was dispersed to the states, providing a collective $3.6 billion to help households in need.
A spokesman for the National Energy Assistance Directors Association said the funding that was released was overdue.
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"This release of LIHEAP funding is essential and long overdue,” Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, said in a statement shared with the Associated Press. “Families can finally begin receiving the support they need to keep the heat on as winter begins.”
Usually, the funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are provided to states at the beginning of November, the AP reported.
Wolfe said delays in funds for both LIHEAP and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which about 68% of LIHEAP households also receive, would “put many households in an even more precarious situation than usual.”
In Georgia, state officials from the Department of Family and Children’s Services said the LIHEAP Heating Program usually starts the first workday of December, giving residents 65 and older, or medically homebound, assistance. This year, that’s Dec. 1.
Other residents who may be eligible for LIHEAP assistance can apply on the first workday in January, per state guidance.
For the coming year, that means applications open for non-elderly or medically homebound residents on Jan. 2, 2026.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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