Financial relief for low-income Rockford households through LIHEAP program

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — As energy prices continue to rise, the City of Rockford is urging residents in need to apply for assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

LIHEAP provides direct payments to utility companies for natural gas, propane, and electricity, offering financial relief to those struggling to pay their energy bills.

“People have to make very difficult decisions about what they can afford,” said Anqunette Parham, Executive Director of Health & Human Services for the City of Rockford. “And so, quite often many of the low-income households that we serve are having to make decisions between whether they can afford their medications or whether they can afford rent or their utilities. So, LIHEAP really helps to improve quality of life by helping to ease that burden.”

To assist residents in signing up for LIHEAP, the city is hosting a series of outreach events. The first event was held today at the Northwest Community Center.

A second outreach event is scheduled for tomorrow at the same location, starting at 9 a.m.

All events are walk-in only, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

• Northwest Community Center
  1325 N. Johnston Ave, Rockford
  Date: October 8 & 9 (Wednesday & Thursday)
• Guysie Jenkins Community Resource Center
  911 Michigan Ave, Rockford
  Date: October 15 & 16 (Wednesday & Thursday)
• Loves Park City Hall – Community Room
  100 Heart Blvd, Loves Park
  Date: October 22 (Wednesday)
• Rockford City Hall – Lobby
  425 E State St, Rockford
  Date: October 23 (Thursday)
• Brooke Rd United Methodist Church – Community Center
  1404 Brooke Rd, Rockford
  Date: October 29 & 30 (Wednesday & Thursday)

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.