Murphy, CAAs Vow To Keep Boosting Fuel Assistance

Community outreach workers gathered to put the heat on Chris Murphy to help keep the heat on for their clients.

After a surge in funding to help people keep their homes warm and electricity running, representatives from utility assistance nonprofits across the state shared updates on their progress with the senator at a roundtable conversation Thursday afternoon at the Community Action Agency of New Haven on Whalley Avenue. 

They heard back a promise from Murphy to fight for energy assistance funding as Congress works on the upcoming appropriations bill. 

The economic hardships of the pandemic pressed some lawmakers to create new streams of government assistance, including the UniteCT rental assistance system and the federal Child Tax Credit last year (which reduced child poverty by 30 percent nationally before Congress failed to renew it).

In addition, earlier in January,​Connecticut received a record $159.9 million in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Dana Barcellos-Allen, the marketing and development director of the statewide energy assistance organization Operation Fuel, said that pandemic conditions requiring people to stay at home for more of the day have sent some families’ utility bills rising.

“Some of our families are on such tight budgets that just having the kids at home, using their toilets and washing their hands all day, really push them out of budget,” Barcellos-Allen said. ​“We have a family that was showering at a gym using a free gym membership. When that gym closed down, all of a sudden, their bills were too high.”

Amos Smith, president and CEO of the Community Action Agency of New Haven, noted that while the state’s minimum wage has been steadily rising up to $15 per hour by 2023, prices have spiked along with it, meaning that the cost of living might not get more affordable for minimum wage earners.

Across the state, a participant reported, the approval rate for energy assistance applications has grown by 30 percent.

That uptick is partly a product of the fact that, since the start of the pandemic, the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program has no longer required clients to show bank statements with their assets in order to receive every assistance program. According to agency Director of Programs and Support Services Sharon Willard, this new policy has encouraged more people to apply for assistance and allowed more people to qualify. 

“Many people do not want to bring a bank statement. That’s personal,” said Willard. The lack of an asset test, which most states do not require for energy assistance, has also allowed clients to receive more funding. Sometimes, as little as $1,000 in the bank could disqualify applicants from certain programs, Willard said.

With the rise in pandemic-era benefit programs — many of which are temporary — roundtable participants urged Murphy not to let utility assistance program funding fall. They shared concerns that with a broader array of pandemic-era benefits, more Connecticut residents might ​“hit the cliff” and lose their eligibility for continued assistance. 

Murphy agreed.

”There’s a record amount of dollars” — but also a new level of financial struggling in the state, he said. ​“We can’t go backwards,” he said.

The Community Action Agency of New Haven offers water and energy bill assistance, among other programs. The agency is located at 419 Whalley Ave and can be reached at (203) 387‑7700.

Operation Fuel offers year-round emergency energy assistance, including utility aid, home system repairs, and homelessness prevention programs. Apply at operationfuel.org/gethelp or at 860 – 243-2345.