DHHR Announces LIEAP applications will be accepted April 24 through April 28, 2023

WV Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Announces Energy Assistance Program for Low-Income Residents

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) announced applications for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) will be accepted beginning Monday, April 24, 2023, and ending at the close of business on Friday, April 28, 2023, or until funds are exhausted. The federally funded program assists eligible state residents in paying home heating bills.

Eligibility for LIEAP benefits is based on income, household size, and whether the household is responsible for paying its heating bill. To qualify, households must meet all program guidelines, which include an applicant’s annual income being at or below 60 percent of the State Median Income. In situations where a heating emergency exists, applicants must be seen by a DHHR worker.

Applications may be obtained at local DHHR offices, community action agencies, or senior centers operated by an Area Agency on Aging. Applications are also available online at www.wvpath.wv.gov.

All applications must be received by DHHR or postmarked by April 28, 2023. Completed applications should be delivered or mailed to the DHHR office located in the applicant’s county of residence. A list of local offices may be found at https://dhhr.wv.gov/bcf/Pages/MapList.aspx or by calling 304-356-4619. Mailing the application to any other office or a utility company may delay the receipt by DHHR and prohibit the processing of the application.

WV Women's History

In observance of Women’s History Month, important stories are being told.

How did it happen that women started working as union coal miners in West Virginia? It wasn’t easy.

In the late 1970s, a concerted effort was made through the United Mine Workers of America and the Coal Employment Project, a non-profit organization that advocated for women’s inclusion in industrial mine workforces.

Those involved fought discrimination that working women encountered and organized around working-class women’s issues.

Their stories are being preserved through the Women Miners Oral History Project and will be archived in the Feminist Activist Collection at West Virginia University’s West Virginia and Regional History Center, a component of the WVU Libraries.

More information about the ground-breaking efforts of those who dealt with economic and social justice issues, health concerns, and professional development challenges for women in our state and nation is needed. From the 1960s on, more and more was happening, but not without significant organizing, planning and follow-through in all fields.

For those who were or know of feminist activists in our region, their records, mementos, photos and other items related to their efforts should be preserved. Contact Lori Hostuttler at the Feminist Activist Collection via lori.hostuttler@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-3536 to learn more.

With everyone’s help, the Collection will be able to provide researchers, students and our communities with the “big picture” about how the activists who made history did it.

This post is from Deb Miller, Esq.