Community Action: Staff doing ‘everything they can’ to distribute fuel assistance funding

With $3.6 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) released after a month’s delay, Community Action Pioneer Valley’s executive director says the social service organization is doing everything possible to get funding distributed to residents in need.

While Community Action was forced to operate its fuel assistance program on an emergency-only basis during November’s government shutdown, non-emergency fuel deliveries were able to resume on Dec. 3, with Community Action sending notices of the update by mail to relieved residents.

“We recognize this delay has caused a major hardship for many. Our team is now doing everything they can to get heating assistance out to applicants,” Community Action Pioneer Valley Executive Director Lev BenEzra said in a statement. “No one should have to choose between heating their home and meeting other basic needs.”

According to Frances Hall, director of community services at Community Action Pioneer Valley, the organization has received about 6,600 applications for fuel assistance in the past few months. Of the roughly 3,500 applications reviewed so far, only 20% qualified as emergencies, a consistent rate with past years, Hall noted. Since Dec. 3, Hall said about 500 applications have come in regarding fuel assistance, a lower number than she anticipated.

In 2024, Community Action’s fuel assistance program served 7,379 households and distributed almost $9 million into the local economy. Funding recipients included 4,526 elders and 2,921 people with disabilities. Benefits received by each household vary based on multiple factors, such as heating source, housing type, and household size and income.

Hall said Community Action staff members are now processing applications that were received in mid-October, and will send approval and denial letters to notify those whose applications were reviewed before Dec. 3 by the end of the week. It will take employees several weeks to notify the rest of the applicants in the order that applications came in.

Hall encourages applicants to call 413-774-2310 to check their application status and visit the Community Action website at communityaction.us/program/fuel-assistance for updates on application time frames.

“The impact has more been about the usual communication tools we have at hand from the state and from the data system,” Hall noted.

Due to the delay in LIHEAP funds, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities informed Community Action of fuel assistance benefit amounts on Dec. 3. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 3, Community Action could not inform applicants whose applications had been approved of their benefit amounts.

“People were wondering, ‘OK, what’s going on now? We hear the money is there; how much is my award?’” Hall said.

While operating on reduced funds, Community Action furloughed three fuel assistance staff members and reduced its schedule to four days a week, thus cutting down on the number of voicemails the team could respond to each day, Hall said. Although the office has resumed its normal operations, she explained that these factors muffled communication with applicants.

“That was frustrating, I’m sure, for people, but both those systems have been remedied,” Hall said, adding that Community Action received limited complaints from applicants.

“I think we managed the impact well in that we did have people on and being able to process [the applications]. Our main priority in that time was returning phone calls and processing emergencies,” Hall continued. “We’re really happy that we have all the staff back and the offices are open our usual hours, so that we have staff concentrated on getting calls returned to people and reviewing the applications and doing the intake appointments for the applicants.”

For clients who have exhausted their fuel assistance benefits entirely, or who have utility or propane arrears preventing service, Community Action recommends the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program. RAFT can help eligible households address arrears and maintain heating service.

For help with existing fuel assistance applications, residents can visit Community Action’s offices at 377 Main St. in Greenfield and 155 Pleasant St. in Northampton. The Greenfield location is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, but is closed for lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. The Northampton office operates with the same hours, with the exception of Monday, when it is closed.