NEWS RELEASE
SUPERIOR WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP
*************************
MARQUETTE — The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) has utility assistance funding to help more UP households stay comfortable and safe this summer. Thanks to a $1.57 million MI Impact grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, qualifying UP households can receive energy and utility assistance from the SWP.
While we often associate energy and utility costs with cold temps and winter weather, increasingly hotter summers also take their toll on bills and budgets. With temperatures soaring, SWP MI Impact funding can assist with electric, heat, water and/or waste expenses for many UP residents feeling the strain of cost of living increases. Households with incomes up to 300 per cent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) may qualify for assistance. A family of four earning up to $7,500 per month may be eligible for relief from some or all of these necessary expenses.
This funding targets, and is now available for the first time for families that fall into the ALICE populations—(Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). This means that many UP households who have historically earned too much to qualify for traditional state assistance programs may now be able to access the help they need to bridge the gap between paychecks and skyrocketing costs of living. The SWP wants to hear from UP households struggling with rising expenses, who think they may earn too much for assistance.
“Costs for everything keep increasing—food, fuel, utilities, you name it,” said Kasey Grieco, Program Manager. “But wages aren’t increasing at anywhere near the same rates, and families who have previously been able to get by are now finding themselves unable to stretch their paychecks far enough. They’re having to make impossible choices about where the money goes. That’s where we come in.”
By opening a new stream of assistance for water and waste expenses for all qualifying households up to 300 per cent FPL, as well as expanding access to electric and heating assistance for households from 151-300 per cent FPL (those previously over-income for other state energy programs), the SWP MI Impact Program aims to give income-qualified residents some breathing room, while at the same time helping keep their homes cooler in the summer, warm in the winter, and with access to clean, safe water year round.
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 currently working with a number of participating electric, heat, water, wastewater, and garbage utilities across the UP, and are seeking to enroll additional water, wastewater and garbage providers, to be able to assist more UP residents, as well as helping local utilities clear past due balances from their accounts.
UP residents in need of assistance and UP water and waste providers who would like to participate should contact the SWP Climate & Energy Office at 906-273-2742, or visit the website for more information and eligibility guidelines.
*************************
