‘Feeling a lot of anxiety’: Families increasingly concerned about future of utility assistance program
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City families are growing increasingly concerned about the future of a vital utility assistance program.
More than 100 people signed in for help at the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council on Wednesday morning, hoping to receive support through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP. The program supports millions of families across the country, including more than 130,000 households in Missouri last month alone, according to the Mid-America Assistance Coalition.
The future of LIHEAP is uncertain after President Donald Trump laid off the entire federal staff overseeing it. While local administrators say current funding will last through the end of the fiscal year, what happens after that is still unclear and demand is only growing.
“I’m on disability, so a lot of the disabled people can’t afford the things that are happening today,” said Kansas City resident Harvey Hamilton. “So this is a really great help for the disabled and our senior citizens.”
Hamilton has relied on LIHEAP for the past four years. He says losing the program could force him to make difficult choices.
“I would just have to wait from month to month either to buy medication or pay for the bills,” he said. “So that’s a heck of a choice to make, and of course I wanna live, so I wanna buy the medication.”
It’s a dilemma the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council sees every day. On Wednesday, representatives from Evergy, Spire, and KC Water were on site helping residents through the application process. Even so, at least 20 people had to be turned away after appointment slots filled up.
“I have very real concerns that a program that was already tapped out in terms of resources really are gonna see even higher numbers of people needing the support but not being able to receive the support,” said Alana Henry, executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council.
She added, “I have concerns about folks being homeless and or in a state of living that’s really unsafe from a heat perspective and an extreme cold perspective.”
Kymira Randolph, another Kansas City resident, said recent budget cuts cost her a job at a nonprofit. Now she’s leaning on LIHEAP for help.
“I’m feeling a lot of anxiety,” Randolph said. “I think a lot of people are laid off, a lot of people are just having a hard time, and I just think the cuts will affect everybody.”
Despite the current uncertainty, Henry says she’s holding out hope lawmakers will take action.
“I’m hopeful that there are some changes that will happen on the federal level and the state level to make sure that our vulnerable communities are taken care of,” she said.
The Mid-America Assistance Coalition told KCTV5 they’re continuing to operate with existing federal funds through Sept. 30. After that, the fate of the program and the families who depend on it is still up in the air.
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