Heating aid money dries up as temperatures drop

Hundreds of elderly and poor metro Atlantans who want help paying energy bills are being told that federal money for the program has already run out for now, just as winter arrives.

Officials cite higher demand and reduced funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which last year helped more than 207,000 Georgians pay energy bills.

Georgia received $18.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, down from $54.9 million in the period last year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. The money goes to states and is distributed by community action organizations covering different counties.

The Obama administration cut the overall program nearly in half in its 2012 budget proposal, to $2.57 billion from $5.1 billion the year before. It cited “tough budget choices” and said the cut was partly justified by lower energy costs. The administration noted that the cut restored the program to 2008 funding levels.

Some in Congress are trying to boost the amount, however, and the issue remains in play amid a series of temporary budget measures.

HHS spokesman Kenneth Wolfe said that “once Congress passes the budget and the president signs it into law, the rest of the allocations can be made, but we don’t know when.”

Georgia agencies started accepting applications from the elderly Nov. 1. The process opened to low income households this week but initial 2012 allotments were already gone.

Joyce Dorsey, who runs the Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority, said more than twice as many senior citizens asked for assistance this year, draining her $1.8 million allotment.

When her staff arrived Thursday morning about 200 people were lined up to apply for the aid, which consists of a one-time payment of up to $350 for energy bills. She said she sent her workers home rather than put them “at risk for verbal or other assault.”

“The budget cuts on the national level are filtering down to the state level,” Dorsey said.

Community groups serving Cobb, Douglas, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, among others, also said the program is on hold.

To qualify for aid, applicants must be 65 or older or homebound. Applicants younger than 65 must meet income criteria.

April McAllister, a new mother who lost her job as a licensed optician in February, called to ask about aid this week.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” said McAllister, of Dunwoody. “It probably means that me and my four-month-old will be without heat and hot water. “

Bettealice Raines, 24, was stunned by the sign reading “ No more applications” at Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority office.

She expects her electricity to be turned off Saturday and she and her 5-year-old son both use a nebulizer for breathing problems. She said she owes $1,433.66 to Georgia Power, including the bill from her mother’s apartment because her name was on it. Raines said she gets $891 a month in disability assistance. Her construction worker husband is unemployed, she added.

Her rent is $550 and what is left goes to support the couple, their son and a 3-year-old daughter, Raines said.

“We’ve got nowhere to go,” she said.

People seeking assistance have other options. MUST Ministries, for example, has a privately-funded program that helps qualified individuals in Cobb and Cherokee counties pay utility bills. Kelley Henderson, vice president of program operations for MUST, said he expects to see a rise in people seeking help.

“Any time a large federal program is going to be cut dramatically, we anticipate seeing some increase in demand,” he said.

In its 2012 budget proposal, the Obama administration also promised to improve oversight of the energy assistance program. In June 2010 the Government Accountability Office issued a report calling for better fraud prevention measures.

-- Staff writer Daniel Malloy contributed to this report