June 9, 2017 – Two Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) programs are helping low-income customers with cooling assistance by providing fans and bill-pay assistance throughout the summer. Thirty-two organizations in 24 Nebraska counties work with DHHS to distribute fans to needy citizens to help them cope with the summer’s heat.
Organizations distributed more than 5,600 fans last year across the state. The organizations that distribute the fans determine the eligibility of the recipients. Fans are purchased with LIHEAP funds.
DHHS also assists low-income customers in paying their summer cooling bills. The cooling payment program is federally funded. The DHHS stretches the remaining dollars from its LIHEAP winter heating program to help as many people as possible. In its annual plan, DHHS said its cooling program would start June 1 and run until August 31.
In order to qualify for the cooling program, a person in the household must be 70 years of age or older, receive Aid to Dependent Children with a child five years of age or younger, or be more susceptible to heat because of a medical condition.
