Great Lakes Community Action Partnership reminds those who need cooling assistance that the Summer Crisis Program is here to help through Sept. 30.

The Summer Crisis Program can help eligible Wood, Ottawa, Sandusky and Seneca county residents receive up to $500 if they are a customer of a regulated utility or $800 if they are a customer of unregulated utilities such as electric cooperatives and municipal utilities.

The assistance can be applied to residents’ utility bills, used to purchase an air conditioning unit or fan; or used to pay for central air conditioning repairs. Ohioans must have a gross income at or below 175% of the federal poverty guidelines (e.g. $48,562.50/household of four) to qualify for assistance.

Clients must complete the intake process and provide the following documents before payments or benefits are received:

· Copies of their most recent energy bills

· A list of all household members and proof of income for the last 30 days or 12 months for each member

· Proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency for all household members

· Proof of disability (if applicable)

· Physician documentation that cooling assistance is needed for a household member’s health (if there isn’t a household member over the age of 60).

To receive assistance, appointments must be scheduled by calling GLCAP’s scheduling hotline at 567-432-5046 or by visiting www.glcap.org/summercooling and scheduling an appointment online.