Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
One of the keystones of being an adult is paying bills. There are car payments, insurance, mortgage, electric, gas, water, etc. the list goes on. With prices of everything going up and salaries staying the same, there has been an affordability crisis for years for households across the country.
That’s why programs like LIHEAP are so important. LIHEAP stands for Low Income Home Energy Assistant Program, and it provides funding for low-income households to help pay utility bills.
The funding is passed by Congress each year, and each year, it is a struggle to get funding approved.
In order to assure the funding continues, organizations like NEUAC – National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition – raise aware- ness by reaching out to senators and congressmen and women to let them know how important the funding is.
This year, Pocahontas County was represented at the LIHEAP Action Day in Washington, D.C., by Steve Whitworth, a retiree who moved to the area, and Meghan Hullinger of Burlington United Methodist Family Services.
Whitworth is no stranger to advocating for LIHEAP funding. Before moving to Pocahontas County, he lived in Florida where he worked for a utility as a customer advocate.
“I worked with a lot of non-profits around the state – people that were helping customers with their electric bills, energy bills,” he said. “I had a relationship with the agencies. The company became a member of NEUAC. When I retired, I just continued to be a member, an individual member.”
After moving to West Virginia, Whitworth reached out to organizations in the area, asking about LIHEAP and how he could help. He contacted the Division of Health and Human Resources – DHHR – and First Energy MonPower, to offer his assistance in advocating for the funding.
For fiscal year 2024, West Virginia received $36,034,714 to disperse to 46,734 households. That is a quarter of the number of households that are eligible for the funding.
Also attending the LIHEAP Action Day in D.C. was Hullinger, who works in Marlinton for Burlington United Methodist Family Services.
The organization provides assistance for individuals who are struggling with addiction and/or mental health issues.
One of its sources of funding is LIHEAP.
The funding is dispersed by DHHR, who Hullinger works with to assist her clients.
“We don’t directly disperse the funding, however, that is one of the more utilized programs that our clients use,” she said. “That is something that we help folks with who may have barriers.
“What we try to do in our organization is keep abreast of pretty much anything that could help our clients financially and emotionally to be able to achieve their goal of stability,” she added.
At the Action Day, Whitworth and Hullinger had a full schedule in which they met with Senator Jim Justice’s staff. They also met directly with Senator Shelley Moore Capito.
“I was most excited about our former governor [Justice], about his response,” Hullinger said. “I had not spoken with Jim Justice, but after speaking with his staff, they were extremely happy to hear what we had to say, and I feel like we delivered a strong message to them.
“We’ve had some pretty staunch advocates in West Virginia for the LIHEAP program,” she continued. “We actually gave an award to Shelley Moore-Capito. She has been really advocating for LIHEAP and continuing LIHEAP. I hope that our elected officials will continue to support this program, especially because we do have a lot of energy property in the state and we also have some of the highest utility bills in the nation right now.”
Whitworth also left the day feeling enthusiastic about the response they got.
“We went to [Capito’s] office and NEUAC presented the Extra Mile Award to her, and we sat there and talked about what was going on in West Virginia,” he said.
LIHEAP is a block grant that goes through the appropriations process every year. It is authorized at no more than $5.1 billion that is dispersed to all the states based on eligibility.
Those who are interested in the programs offered by Burlington United Methodist Family Services may contact Hullinger at 681-379-2165 or through her personal Facebook page.
