Heidi O’Donnell checked the weather report constantly over the weekend as a cold front brought lows in the 20s and 30s to Shokan, New York, a small town in the Catskill mountains. She needed to come up with $535 to recharge her furnace with heating oil, but the federal funds for heating assistance that she typically relies on were delayed due to the government shutdown and staffing cuts.
The former fashion designer in her late 50s huddled around a space heater in her one-bedroom apartment with her knitting and her black cat, Henry. After her husband died at age 43 and she began experiencing health problems, O’Donnell said, “I got to a point in my life where being able to financially support myself is an impossibility.”
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O’Donnell told Straight Arrow News she receives disability and social security payments, but with the rising cost of living, that isn’t always enough. Each of the last seven winters, she has relied on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to buy enough heating oil to stay warm.
“Watching it get cold while you know you can’t order oil has been traumatic,” she said.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced plans to release $3.7 billion for LIHEAP by the end of the month, following pressure from a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The program helps low income people stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Funding was delayed due to the 43-day government shutdown. Despite the shutdown ending last week, the funds may be disbursed two months later than normal. With temperatures in the northeast dropping and utility bills on the rise, many households depend on federal funds now more than ever.
When will LIHEAP funds reach states this year?
In an email obtained by SAN, Andrew Gradison, a principal deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told LIHEAP grant recipients Tuesday that the agency anticipates funds will be released no later than Nov. 30.
Gardison told grant recipients his office “recognizes LIHEAP grant recipients need the majority of their funds on hand to assist households during the winter months, and we are working expeditiously to meet this goal.”
The memo comes after Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both of Alaska, joined more than two dozen Democrats in signing a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. requesting he “immediately release” LIHEAP funding.
“October marked the start of the heating season for many states, and with temperatures already dropping, low-income families and seniors are feeling additional strains on their household budgets,” the letter stated.
Kennedy has not responded publicly to the letter.
How does LIHEAP work?
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program started in 1981. The program is intended for low-income households that spend a high proportion of their income on energy to help prevent utility disconnection or purchase fuel to heat their homes.
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Since 2019, the average heating assistance grant through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has fluctuated from $415 to $634 per qualifying household.
Katrina Metzler, executive director of the nonprofit National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition, told SAN that as cold weather hits, delays to LIHEAP “could mean the difference between life and death.”
In 2024, the program distributed $4.1 billion in grants. Each year by early September, states, tribal organizations and U.S. territories submit funding plans to the Administration for Children and Families, the HHS division that runs LIHEAP.
States are allowed to customize eligibility requirements within federal guidelines for who qualifies as low income. A team of federal staffers reviews and accepts plans from about 200 entities that receive formula grant funding. In a typical year, funding is distributed on Oct. 1.
Households that need temporary assistance to afford heating or air conditioning can apply through local agencies. Funds can also go toward repairing energy equipment like heaters or air conditioning units, or to weatherization upgrades to increase energy efficiency.
Where do heating assistance funds go?
The average benefit per household varies depending on the season and purpose. Since 2019, the average heating assistance award has fluctuated from $415 to $634.
As the most populous cold weather state, New York receives the largest share of funding. New York has among the highest electric utility rates in the country. A recent report found that 1 in 4 New York City residents currently live in poverty. And in rural areas like Shokan, many people rely on heating oil deliveries, which can cost $1,000 or more for a full tank.
O’Donnell said there are others in her community who also need LIHEAP funds to stay warm in the winter. That includes one of O’Donnell’s neighbors whom she said has three kids and works as a school bus driver.
“The people that rely on that funding are mostly people who are working or people who are disabled and are senior citizens,” she said.
Why is LIHEAP funding delayed?
In the email to grant recipients, Gradison wrote, “had Democrats chosen to not shut down the government, LIHEAP funds would have already been distributed and available.”
When Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Trump administration was “slow walking” this year’s funding in an exchange on social media, the HHS Rapid Response account said Schumer “created this mess.”
However, the ability to push LIHEAP funds out the door also depends on staffing levels. Amid efforts to trim the federal workforce earlier this year, HHS fired the entire 14-person team that oversaw the program. It is unclear exactly how many people are working on LIHEAP now, but sources familiar with the program told SAN that there are no longer any full-time staffers dedicated solely to that program.
In a typical year, state and tribal government plans would already have been accepted on Oct. 1 when the government shutdown began, sources told SAN.
In an email to SAN, HHS Press Secretary Emily Hilliard said states received guidance this week and the process is “moving swiftly.” Hilliard did not respond to specific questions about staffing shortages.
How are states coping with delayed funds?
Northeastern states are already seeing temperatures in the 20s and low 30s. States in the Midwest, Rocky Mountains and Plains are also experiencing winter weather.
Although funding is delayed, most states are allowing people who need help heating their homes this winter to apply through local agencies. Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, told SAN that a few states such as Colorado and Vermont are using state funds to help families facing crises, though most states have been waiting for the assurance of federal funding before offering assistance.
At this rate, most funding will not reach households in need until early or mid-December — up to two months later than in previous years.
Some households will benefit from seasonal disconnection protections that prevent utilities from shutting off customers during periods of cold weather. But those protections won’t help those who have to buy a winter’s worth of heating oil upfront.
Since breaking an ankle a few months ago, O’Donnell has been receiving help from her daughter and son-in-law who signed her up for a pre-made meal subscription. She didn’t want to ask them for even more, and she had no idea when LIHEAP funds would become available, so she started a fundraiser online.
Through friends in the knitting community and people who followed her Bluesky account, O’Donnell raised enough money to afford the $535 half tank. She offered everyone who donated a pair of knitted socks, as she already spends much of her free time knitting socks she sends to her daughter to distribute to New York City’s homeless population.
After a truck delivered the heating oil Tuesday morning, O’Donnell said she feels “very relieved right now that I know I can stay warm for at least two months.” But she will need more oil to get through the whole winter.
O’Donnell is hopeful that by then states will have LIHEAP funding distributed to residents who need it.
