Tompkins County assistance programs.

Get housing assistance
Over $2 million dollars in federal government assistance will be provided to Tompkins County to expand programs that will help the homeless, prevent evictions, and also provide short term rent relief.

The groups that will be distributing the funds include Tompkins Community Action, Tompkins County Department of Social Services, Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County, and also Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga.

A variety of aid will be offered, and services that will be included are rental assistance, homelessness prevention, and also rehousing case management and counseling for families and individuals. Participants in the program will also be linked to support services and job training to help them both regain employment and self-sufficiency.

Tompkins Community Action (phone 273-8816) also offers programs, such a LIHEAP and weatherization, that will help families pay their winter heating bills as well as utility expenses. They are located at 701 Spencer Road in Ithaca.

Assistance with heating bills - HEAP and Weatherization

There are some different organizations that people can turn to if they need help with their heating and gas bills. They include the federal government supported Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) as well as the Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga.

Tompkins Community Action (TCAction) offers both the HEAP as well as the weatherization program. The organization accepts applications for the HEAP program, which provides assistance for heating emergencies. Payments for clients of the program will vary based on the type of heat used by the household. Natural gas users can receive $400 to $500 per year if there is an elderly person or person with a disability in the home. However, fuel or heating oil users can get $600 to $700. For natural gas users, the emergency benefit is $350 for a household of four or more, or $300 for fewer than four people in the household. For fuel oil users, the emergency benefit is $600 per home, which doesn't change based on the size of a household. Find how to get free heating oil from Citgo.

The weatherization program is also funded by the federal government, and it performs free energy audits and free building performance services and improvements for income eligible consumers. It will help people reduce their utility and heating bills. It  provides efficient energy use education, and also even applies health and safety measures to ensure the quality of an energy efficient home/apartment.

Call the Tompkins Community Action agency at 273-8816.

Another place to run to is Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga. They are located at 324 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca. Their number is 272-5062. this agency also has limited funds and grants that they can provide to help with heating crisis situations. Call Catholic Charities if you are in dire circumstances with nowhere else to turn to for heating bill help.

Get help paying rent

The federal government has provided grants from the Rapid Rehousing program. The money was provided to a variety of local agencies, including Catholic Charities, the Department of Social Services, Human Services Coalition, and also to the Tompkins Community Action agency. Hundreds of families have been helped to date. The federal government money in being provided as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act federal economic stimulus bill.

To date, over $320,000 was distributed to needy families to help them pay for rental arrears for 230 families, $33,000 was handed out to help with new housing security deposits for 61 households, and almost $65,000 was spent by almost 80 households to help them pay for utility arrears, and another 10 households received help with moving expenses and costs.

In addition, over 200 households have received received longer term subsidies for ongoing rental assistance, and an additional $1 million has been set aside from the federal program to continue supporting those families through the end of the year with paying their rent.

Contact the above mentioned agencies for more information or to apply.