CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH KASEY GREICO, SWP PROGRAM MANAGER
The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) Energy & Climate Office recently received a MI Impact grant for $1.57 million from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, expanding heat and electric assistance to more U.P. households, and offering water, sewer, and waste assistance for the first time ever.
The SWP can now provide unprecedented assistance to low-income and ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population residents in the UP. Households with incomes up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) may qualify for assistance with water and waste bills, and now households with incomes between 151% and 300% FPL may qualify for heat and electric assistance as well. *Included table shows examples of 150% and 300%.
Since 2013, the SWP has worked with over 8,000 income-qualified UP households to provide heat and electric assistance. Realizing that many more households needed assistance than those who had previously been eligible, the SWP began seeking additional funding to expand its services to more UP residents in need, as well as to offer assistance with utility bills that many assistance programs exclude, such as water, sewer, and trash disposal.
“This is a one-of-a-kind program to help households who have never been eligible for utility assistance. With low-income Michigan residents spending an average of 15% of their income on energy bills alone, this funding couldn’t come at a better time to help people in the UP,” said Kasey Grieco, Program Manager.
This assistance is intended to reduce energy and utility burdens, thereby allowing households to redirect funds for other needs. Approved households are encouraged to spend funds that would have been allocated for utilities on necessities such as healthy food, vehicle repairs, and medication.
The SWP is one of 10 Michigan non-profits, and the only one in the UP, awarded funds from the MI Impact Grant program, which aims to address disparities that affect Michiganders’ abilities to afford necessities such as housing, child care, food, health care, and transportation, with the goal of lifting 100,000 families out of poverty during the next five years. UP residents in need of assistance should contact the SWP Climate & Energy Office at 906-273-2742, or visit the website for more information and eligibility guidelines.
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