Community Action Agency Awarded Energy Assistance Grant
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Jan 25, 2018, Comments Off
Courtesy Larry Sanchez,
(Laredo, Texas)-Webb County Commissioner Rosaura “Wawi” Tijerina, along with Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina have announced the awarding of $1,144,925 to the Webb County Community Action Agency (CAA) in grant monies to benefit low-income individuals. During a press conference held in commissioners court, CAA director Javier Ramirez said that the agency will be using these funds to provide electricity assistance for utility assistance and household crisis, including disconnection notices, as part of its Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP).
The Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program is a utility assistance program. It is designed to assist low income households in meeting their immediate energy needs and to encourage consumers to control energy costs for years to come through energy education. The program is designed to pay energy consumption bills for eligible clients for up to eight months for those who qualify.
“This is great news for the residents of Webb County who really need the assistance offered by the program,” said Commissioner Tijerina, “We plan to assist hundreds of households through this grant and improve the quality of life for our Webb County residents.”
The Community Action Agency invites all low-income individuals to apply for electricity assistance, with a priority given to the elderly, disabled, and the unemployed. To qualify for the program certain criteria must be met, including having American citizenship or legal resident status. Since assistance is income based, participants have to earn below a certain amount to become eligible.
Applications will be taken starting Monday, January 29, 2018. Potential participants are encouraged to contact the Larga Vista Community Center located on 5401 Cisneros or by phone at (956) 523-5087, or the Lilia Perez Community Center located on 4420 Old Santa Maria Rd. or by phone at (956) 724-7050 or the Rio Bravo Community Center at 1600 Orquidia at 523-4863. The application process will be in two phases and the required documents must be presented in order to be assigned an appointment. All documentation must be originals and for the current year 2017.
Documents needed include:
· Proof of US Citizenship or US Legal Resident (Legal Residents documentation will be processed through the SAVE program)
· Current TX Driver’s License or TX Identification
· Listing of any benefits attached to “Benefit Award Letters” (Example: Social Security, Disability Benefits, Child Support, TANF, etc.)
· Proof of household income in the last 30 days for all household members 18 years or older (Example: Check Stubs, Pension, Royalties, etc.)
· Most current electric bill (For applicants that have been with their electric company for 12 months or more, a billing history/energy consumption is required from date of appointment with the dollar amount and kilowatts (kWh) consumed per month)
