By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
The Beaufort County Department of Social Services has received an additional $67,457 to fund a crisis-intervention program designed to provide assistance with qualified residents’ energy costs.
DSS was notified this week that the money was on its way, said Sylvia King, DSS’ program manager for income maintenance.
The announcement came as the area faced some of the coldest weather to sweep through the South in a quarter-century and the possibility of snow loomed in the forecast.
Also underscoring the just-in-time properties of the announcement was word that the crisis-intervention fund had fallen to an on-hand total of $91.
That amount of money would have helped “maybe one person needing kerosene, possibly two,” King said, “but it wouldn’t have gone very far.”
DSS directors across North Carolina recently contacted the state to report heating crises as needy people struggled to cope with heating bills, Sonya Toman, Beaufort County’s DSS director, shared earlier this week.
The state was waiting to release federal dollars for the program, and local directors were anxiously awaiting word of that release, Toman indicated.
Last month, DSS spent $48,000 to serve nearly 250 people eligible for aid under the program, King related.
Depending on the amounts of the utility bills with which people need help, the fund could bring benefits to 250 to 300 people this month, she said.
No household or individual may receive more than $600 per year through the program, according to King.
The initiative also covers the summer months, she noted.
The winter portion of the crisis-intervention program kicks in when the temperature falls below 40 degrees, King said.
A recipient must have at least one United States citizen living in his or her home, and he or she also must meet income requirements that stipulate a gross income at or below 150 percent of the poverty level, she said.
The money can be used not only to help with heating or cooling expenses, but to pay for anything from heating fuel to blankets to space heaters, King said.
“It doesn’t have to be to pay a utility bill,” she stated.
Potential applicants may contact King or Theresa Porter, direct supervisor of the program, by calling DSS at 975-5500.
BOX:
Household gross-income requirements
to qualify for DSS energy-assistance funds
• $1,355 per month for a one-person household;
• $1,823 per month for a two-person household;
• $2,289 per month for a three-person household;
• $2,757 per month for a four-person household.
Source: Sylvia King, Beaufort County Department of Social Services