Demand for utility assistance up

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - While many families are struggling to pay their bills, organizations that provide utility assistance are seeing huge increases in demand.

Vickie Harless of Morgan County turned to the Flanner House on the city's near northwest side for help.

"Where I'm working at they're decreasing our hours to like 15-20 hours a week, a maximum of 20 hours a week, and with the economy right now, I can hardly afford to pay the bills on what I make," said Harless.

The non-profit helped pay her utility bills, without which Harless said she would probably have gone without heat and electricity. Workers at the Flanner House said the need for utility assistance has increased 25% to 30% over last year.

The Flanner House just received a $50,000 grant that will help people pay for things like utilities, but the executive director admits in these tough times, it's not going to go far.

"We got the first $25,000 and that's not a lot of money in terms of requests that come in, so we try to access the situation and put the resources where they are needed most," said Myron Richardson, Flanner House Executive Director.

At the state level, workers have already helped 15,000 more families this year compared to last, and there's a long way to go this winter.
Luckily, the government anticipated higher natural gas costs, so they nearly doubled their budget to $106 million. That means they can help more families, and provide more money to each one.

"Traditionally, our benefit amount was about $320 on average, it is now $423 per family, so we've been able to provide additional benefits for the families," said Sherry Seiwert, Executive Director in Housing and Community Development Authority.

If you need heating assistance call 211 or click on the links below.

Community Action of Greater Indianapolis

Energy Assistance Information