The Greater Cleveland Economic Opportunity Council helps low-income families with their utility bills through a program called the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program.
This program is active all year round and provides financial support for both summer cooling and winter heating bills.

During the winter heating period set by the Ohio Public Enterprise Commission, the Housing Services Bureau accepts applications from thousands of eligible residents in Cuyahoga County who apply for emergency fees for heating gas, electricity for forced air heating and for bulk fuels such as oil, coal and wood.
The application period shall normally begin on 1 November and end on 31 March.

During the summer months, funds may be available to help eligible Cuyahoga County residents pay for electricity needed to keep their homes cool, and to provide air conditioning and/or fans to those suffering from life-threatening illnesses when summer temperatures are extremely high.

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 Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland service before? If so, please help our website users by answer these questions below.