By Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul

The cold has certainly arrived and we want to share with you some of the information we give Legislative District 11 residents when they call our office seeking help meeting their heating needs.

More residents are feeling the pinch of a higher cost of living, driven in part by food prices and increased utility rates, stressing their already tight household budgets. Fortunately, help is available because we have excellent nonprofit partners in LD11 that do a great job of helping people in need of assistance. 

New Jersey offers the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through several of these nonprofit partners. LIHEAP helps families and individuals meet home heating and medically necessary cooling costs and the application period runs from October 1 through June 30. Even if your heating costs are included in your monthly rents, you may be eligible for LIHEAP benefits. The amount of the LIHEAP heating benefit is determined by income, household size, fuel type, and heating region. 

The state also offers the Universal Service Fund Program (USF) to help make natural gas and electric bills more affordable for low-income households. To learn more about these programs and apply visit www.energyassistance.nj.gov.

You also can get direction and apply through one of our excellent nonprofits that administer LIHEAP and USF in Monmouth County.

You can reach the Affordable Housing Alliance, which has offices in Neptune Township and Eatontown, at [email protected], or by calling (732) 389-2958 during business hours Monday through Friday.

The Community Affairs and Resource Center, in Asbury Park and Freehold, helps residents lower the cost of gas and electric utilities through its Home Energy Assistance programs. You may contact CARC at [email protected], or by phone at (732) 774-3282.

If you or someone you know is without shelter, you can locate temporary shelter to get out of the cold at a Code Blue warming center. When the National Weather Service forecast temperatures reaching 32 degrees (32°F) or lower, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management will issue an alert to all 53 municipalities and appropriate social services agencies. Code Blue information is also available on the NJ Statewide Homeless Hotline, by dialing 211 or (877) 652-1148.

February is Black History Month and we also wanted to let you know about our Black History Month celebration, at 6 p.m. on Feb 20, 2025. Join us at VFW Post 1333 in Neptune as we honor the rich culture and history of Blacks in America. This year’s honorees are Darryl Speights, of Long Branch; Ralph Anderson, Eatontown; Nancy Blackwood, Red Bank; Sascha Duckenfield, of We are the Future in Freehold; Deidre Belinfanti, of GSE in Asbury Park; Jason M. Corley, Long Branch athletic director, and Wilber Martin, a purple heart recipient and member of Post 1333.

In the meantime, bundle up, drive slowly when the roads are wet or slippery, and don’t hesitate to call our LD11 office at (732) 704-3808 and a member of the staff will assist you in finding resources to make your winter warmer, safer, and more affordable.

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