Fund offers emergency bill payment help
PEARL RIVER, N.Y. Remember, this winter, that unexpected misfortune respects no wealth or position or status. A financial reversal, an unexpected medical problem, an accident or any other kind of emergency could happen to any one of us. That’s why the emergency help that The Neighbor Fund has offered the community for more than 20 years is so vitally important. The Neighbor Fund provides critical home-heating assistance for those Pike County Light and Power Company (PCL&P) customers who find themselves unable to pay their home heating fuel bills because of emergency financial conditions. Since 1983, the Fund, which is administered by Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc, PCL&P’s parent company, has awarded over $3.3 million in grants to more than 14,300 households enduring financial hardship, including those in Pike County. Last year, O&R made over 300 grants totaling more than $100,000. The Neighbor Fund provides a one-time grant for electric customers of $250 and for heating fuel customers of $250. Grants from The Neighbor Fund are awarded to pay for home energy costs no matter what type of fuel is used --- electricity, oil, natural gas, propane, wood or coal. The grant money does not have to be repaid, and there are no age limits or income guidelines to be met. To qualify for The Neighbor Fund grant, individuals must have an account with PCL&P and must already have exhausted all governmental resources available for financial assistance. They must also provide supporting documentation of emergency/crisis circumstances (medical bills, unemployment notification, etc.) The Salvation Army, a partner with PCL&P in The Neighbor Fund program, evaluates Neighbor Fund applications and makes the grants. If you need The Neighbor Fund’s assistance, please contact the Safe Haven program’s office in Milford at 570-296-2827 or the Salvation Army office in Port Jervis, N.Y. at 845-856-3214. If you wish to make a contribution to The Neighbor Fund so it can continue its important work, add $1 to your energy bill payment, or write a check payable to The Neighbor Fund, and send it to O&R at 1 Blue Hill Plaza, Pearl River, N.Y., 10965 Attn: Linda Feger.