Cumberland County assistance programs.

Help with heating bills and save money with Weatherization

If you or your family is struggling in this economic environment, the Tri-County Community Action Partnership has resources that can provide you with energy bill assistance, and that can also help you lower your energy bills.

The community action agency will accept requests for emergency energy bill assistance for heating oil, propane, wood, coal, and kerosene. In addition, Tri-County will also accept requests for emergency assistance for electricity and natural gas bills. They will provide people with grants to help pay these energy bills. To be eligible for emergency assistance from the agency, an applicant must be out of or nearly out of fuel, or facing a disconnection.

The funding and grants they provide are part of the federal government’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This was designed to help low-income families and individuals meet home heating as well as medically necessary cooling costs. Families in Bridgeton and Cumberland County New Jersey can apply.

The amount of the cash grant provided by LIHEAP heating benefit will be determined by household income, the total household size, fuel type and the region of the county and state they live in. find other ways to get electric bill assistance.

In addition, the agency administers the Weatherization program. This will provide people with free energy saving upgrades and improvements to their homes, which will allow people to save hundreds of dollars on their energy bills.

Contact the Tri-County Community Action Agency at (856) 451-6330.

Millville New Jersey Heating Assistance

Bethel Development Corp, phone number (856) 327-1247, is assisting local residents with applying to a state and federal government program that offers utility and heating bill assistance.

The nonprofit organization, which is located on South 5th Street, is partnering with the state's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. This federal funded program was created to help people pay for heating oil, wood, natural gas, coal, propane and kerosene to heat their homes through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

In the past they worked with the local community action agency, but this year the organization decided to offer the utility bill assistance on its own to reach more families who live in the eastern part of Cumberland county.

The program is effective. While the amount of the LIHEAP heating benefit is determined by household income, fuel type, household size, and heating region, the fact is that it helps thousands of people per year. To be eligible for the states LIHEAP benefits, the applicant household must be responsible for paying for their home heating or cooling costs. It needs to be paid either directly or included in their rent. The applicant must also have a gross income at or below 225 percent of the federal poverty level.