McHenry Times

The McHenry County Housing Authority is currently accepting applications on an appointment-only basis for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which gives low-income households a grant toward their home heating utility bills.

McHenry County Program Director Linda Elliott recently told the McHenry Times that the benefit consists of a “one-time payment if they are found eligible” and “we do more toward gas than we do the electric because it is the heating assistance program.” 

In order to qualify, applicants must have an income of less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level or 60 percent of the state median poverty level. In Illinois, for example, a family of four would have to have a pre-tax household income of $36,375 to be eligible for the program.

LIHEAP was first established in 1981 and was specifically intended to assist those households with the lowest incomes that were paying the highest percentage of those incomes on home heating expenses. The program was started as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

But while LIHEAP is generally regarded as a federal social services program, state legislatures often provide supplemental funds. Elliott said Illinois appropriations consist of “state and federal money that Springfield puts together,” and the McHenry County Housing Authority distributes the funds based on family size and income. 

Target audiences for the program are generally the most vulnerable to winter’s wrath, such as the elderly, families with young children and the disabled. The distribution of funding is derived from demographic formulas calculated using local climate and economic data. In some cases, emergency funds may be allocated. The McHenry Housing Authority is in charge of designing and configuring the program to best suit the needs within the area.

Usually applications are taken on a first come-first serve basis, but in many cases that results in an early winter rush to receive assistance, because as Elliott points out, “they [federal and state government] give us a set amount and that’s what we got to work with” and that when the funding runs out applicants are “out of luck of getting any assistance” until the next program year. 

In Illinois, applications are accepted on an appointment-only basis.