ACTION is temporarily available  on an appointment-only basis until  further notice.  

If you leave a message, please clearly state your:

    Full Name
    Telephone Number including Area Code

If you are seeking services, please also state:

    The County in which you live
    A brief description of the reason for your call.


As we have several programs which provide different services, it is very important for you to provide a brief reason for your call so that we may refer your call to the correct person to call you back. We appreciate your understanding and truly hope you, your family and friends remain healthy and safe during this time of concern. 

ACTION provides services that lend a helping hand. Each county has a dedicated staff member who is available to help those who have experienced an unforeseen hardship in their lives or are in need of employment support. We assess both the need and the solution to getting them past the current situation, which may seem too insurmountable to focus on long-range goals. Our services may include help with rent, energy and mortgage expenses, or essential employment supplies.


We work with individuals to help them through an immediate ‘crisis’ situation that has caused them to become behind in their bills. In order to encourage financial sustainability, along with independence and responsibility, we have measures in place requiring individuals to:

    Have experienced a financial crisis / hardship through no fault of their own that has caused them to become behind on their financial obligations. Examples include:
        Being laid off from work
        Experienced an unforeseen medical expense
        Their husband / wife / significant other left the home resulting in a loss of income.
    We are able to assist with rent, mortgage and energy bills with the duration of the assistance individually assessed according to need.
    The hardship has to have occurred within 90 days of the individual coming to ACTION to seek help and may be individually assessed depending on cause and availability of funds.
    Individuals may only receive assistance one time in a 24-month period.
    The individual is required to complete a full application and provide documentation about themselves and members of the household, their hardship and monthly financial obligations.
    We also provide REFERRALS to every individual who seeks assistance as other partnership agencies may also be able to provide assistance and guidance.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance program is called LIHEAP. They assist low income people and families with their heating and cooling bills. This program is therefore, a year long program that is available 12 months a year. To qualify for the LIHEAP assistance, you need to qualify. We provide the current Federal Poverty Rates nationwide below.

You are automatically qualified for LIHEAP assistance if you participate in the SNAP food stamps program, TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or the SSI program through Social Security.

Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2024

Persons In Family	Earnings (100% Fed Poverty Guideline)
1	$15,060
2	$20,440
3	$25,820
4	$31,200
5	$36,580
6	$41,960
7	$47,340
8	$52,720

*Alaska and Hawaii have different rates for HUD federal poverty guidelines.
These numbers above represent 100% of the Federal Poverty Rate. In order to get legal aid from some offices, they use a sliding fee scale. When they use a sliding fee scale, the 100% rate can be different than 100%. In those cases, using for example a 200% federal poverty level, you will only need double the 100% number listed above to 200%.

User questions & answers

Have you used the ACTION, Inc. (Madison) service before? If so, please help our website users by answer these questions below.