Double the Money for Heating Help

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By Molly Kelleher

Story Published: Feb 11, 2009 at 11:14 AM PDT

TRI-CITIES - This year the Benton Franklin Community Action Committee is offering twice as many LIHEAP appointments than last year.

CAC (Community Action Committee) helps turn on heat for poor families, and they got a last minute cash boost. So now a program that usually has to turn people away is trying to get more people to sign up.

It's a packed house at the C.A.C.. So packed we could barely fit our cameras in the waiting room. And this is typical.

CAC is a non-profit where people can come to sign up for heating assistance. People like Maria Valenzuela.

"It's very important because she couldn't pay electrical bill and it got shut off now she can keep electricity on," said Valenzuela

But don't be deceived by the lines or the crowds, the CAC still has money to give. They need you to brave the crowd and come in.

That's because something happened this year that never happened before.
They got double the money; but if they don't use it, they lose it

"If we can't spend the money it sends the message to the government that our community doesn't need it. Of course we know the is out there we just need to get the people through the door," said Tracy Diaz of Benton Franklin Community Action Committee.

They have more than 2-million dollars to give and it's not just for the very poor. It's also people with jobs, those with more than one income, and seniors.

The heating help could be as little as $25 to as much as $1000. It's a good thing waiting to be used: some extra cash to pay the bills or money to fix your furnace.

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