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Pocono News Section
Anger Peaks Over Heating Assistance Program
Anger Peaks Over Heating Assistance Program - Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 12:17PM EST
Reported by: David DeCosmo
Thursday, Nov 6, 2008 @ 12:17pm EST
SCRANTON , LACKAWANNA COUNTY- As we first told you on Monday applications are being accepted for the low income home heating assistance program, or LIHEAP. What should be a good thing has some people angry. The problem stems from the order in which applicants are being called. Long lines of people waiting to apply for heating assistance have become a common sight along Spruce Street in Scranton . The problem is that the lines get too long! People who showed up Wednesday afternoon found only a sign indicating that the agency had exceeded its capacity for the day. Some people have been coming back day after day trying to get in to fill out their application for heating assistance. One area resident told us he’d been there three times amounting to 40 dollars worth of gas. Helen Bitting has been turned away too and she said, "they told us yesterday that, ah, when we were all starting to grumble, that if we didn't leave that we were going to be arrested for loitering."
75 numbers were handed out to people in this line. Those who didn't get a number will have to come back again. The Lackawanna County Human Development Agency also runs an emergency program. It provides immediate assistance to qualified individuals or families that have run out of fuel or have furnace problems. Agency director Fred Lettieri says they can only process so many applications each day. But, he says the program will not run out of assistance money. | | |
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