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Special to the Signal

Governor Robert Bentley on Friday awarded grants totaling $37.2 million to assist low-income families in Alabama including those in Lowndes County with home energy bills.

According to the Office of the Governor, due to the recent storms in Alabama, Bentley has fast tracked these grants in order for funds to be distributed immediately.

The grants will enable 22 community action agencies throughout the state to provide temporary emergency assistance with electric and gas bills. Priority for assistance is given to the elderly, people with disabilities and families with young children.

“High home heating bills during the winter can be very challenging for low-income families or elderly residents living on very limited budgets,” Bentley said. “These grants will continue to provide needed assistance to residents with the greatest need.”

Those seeking assistance must apply through their local community action agencies. Eligibility is based on income, family size and available resources. If applications are approved, payments are made directly to the utility companies on behalf of residents.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants as part of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The funding was made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“A cold winter can be especially harsh on those living on extremely limited incomes,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “ADECA’s partnerships with community action agencies throughout the state enables us to help those in need of assistance. I thank Governor Bentley for prioritizing these grants to help families impacted by the recent severe weather in our state.”

The community action agencies, counties served and grant amounts are listed below.

• Community Action Partnership of Huntsville/Madison and Limestone Counties Inc. (Madison and Limestone) – $2,313,683 • Community Service Programs of West Alabama Inc. (Bibb, Choctaw, Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Tuscaloosa and Sumter) – $3,331,190 • Walker County Community Action Agency Inc. (Walker) – $629,320 • Pickens County Community Action Committee and Community Development Corp. Inc. (Pickens) – $287,068 • Organized Community Action Program Inc. (Bullock, Butler, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Lowndes and Pike) – $2,331,889 • Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama Inc. (Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale) – $1,100,014 • Community Action Agency of Northeast Alabama Inc. (Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and St. Clair) – $3,048,685 • Community Action Partnership of North Alabama Inc. (Cullman, Lawrence and Morgan) – $1,799,536 • Montgomery Community Action Agency (Montgomery) – $2,019,137 • Mobile Community Action Inc. (Mobile and Washington) – $3,836,929 • Marion-Winston Counties Community Action Committee Inc. (Marion and Winston) – $588,062 • Macon-Russell Community Action Agency Inc. (Macon and Russell) – $858,631 • Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (Jefferson) – $3,337,594 • Southeast Alabama Community Action Partnership, Inc. (Barbour, Coffee, Geneva, Henry and Houston) – $1,900,283 • Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization Inc. (Hale) – $361,343 • Community Action of Etowah County Inc. (Etowah) – $864,701 • Community Action Agency of Central Alabama (Autauga, Dallas, Elmore and Perry) – $1,713,112 • Eleventh Area of Alabama Opportunity Action Committee Inc. (Chilton and Shelby) – $950,616 • Community Action Committee Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa (Chambers, Coosa and Tallapoosa) – $862,929 • Community Action Agency of South Alabama (Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo, Monroe and Wilcox) – $2,416,195 • Alabama Council on Human Relations Inc. (Lee) – $1,137,444 • Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun, and Cleburne Counties (Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph and Talladega) – $1,499,982.

Full contact information for each agency can be found at www.caaalabama.org/agency-list.php.