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ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY HOME ENERGY IMPROVEMENT & EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE SERVICES DIRECTORY
AIDS Community Resources
Contact – Lori Sherry at 800-475-2430, lsherry@aidscommunityresources.com, 9 Miner St., Canton
Target area: Central NY region, St. Lawrence County
Services: Provide case management services to people and families with HIV/AIDS. Services include food pantry program, transportation, emergency financial assistance, and mental health counseling.
Association for Neighborhood Rehabilitation (ANR)
Contact – Tammy Johnson at 393-4610, anrtjohnson@westelcom.com
Target areas: Morristown, Heuvelton, Lisbon, Madrid, Waddington and the City of Ogdensburg
Services: Housing rehabilitation, first time homebuyer program, provides handicap accessible housing for elderly/disabled.
Canton Church & Community Worker Program
Contact: Sheri Wilcox at 386-3534 cantonccp@aol.com
Target areas: All of Canton, Claire, DeGrasse, Dekalb, Hermon, Pierrepont, Pyrites, Russell and Rensselaer Falls, only the 386-prefixes in Crary Mills, and all but the 393 prefixes in Lisbon
Services: Thrift store, emergency food assistance, emergency utility assistance up to $100-150, school supplies, garden project, and Christmas program.
Catholic Charities
Contact: Main office at 393-2660, 716 Caroline St., Ogdensburg, NY 13669
Target areas: All of St. Lawrence County with focus on Ogdensburg and surrounding communities.
Services: Emergency food, emergency utility assistance up to $50 in conjunction with other service providers.
City of Ogdensburg Office of Rehabilitation & Development
Contact: Mark Jacobs at 393-7401, Housing Coordinator City of Ogdensburg, 330 Ford St. Ogdensburg NY 13669, fax 393-1136, mjacobs@ogdensburg.org
Target areas: City of Ogdensburg
Services: Emergency Repair Program that offers low interest loans, deferred loans and grants to income eligible clients within the city limits of Ogdensburg. The program will replace or repair heating systems, water heaters, electrical and roofs in an accelerated process. The city also has an ongoing owner-occupied and rental repair program for non-emergency housing rehabilitation, i.e., siding, insulation, windows and doors, porches, basements, etc. The city also offers a Home Buyer Program complemented by its home repair program. Owner-occupants and tenants must be below HUD Sec.8 income guidelines for low/moderate income households in St. Lawrence County, a household of one is $27,950 add $4,000/each additional household member.
ComforTech
Contact: Kebbyn Giffin at 379-9679, kebbyn@earthlink.net
Target areas: St. Lawrence County
Services: Assisted Home Performance with Energy Star® provides a low-cost energy audit and pays one half of the cost of implementing the work scope up to a total grant of $5,000. Low-cost loans are available for the other half of the work. May be combined with other assistance programs. Available to households with incomes of 80% or below state-median income ($28,848 for single-member household; $55,488 for four-member household). This is a program of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Community Energy Services (CES)
Contact: Ann Heidenreich at 379-9466, ces@slic.com, www.communithenergyservices.org
Target areas: St. Lawrence County
Services: Assisted Home Performance with Energy Star®, same as ComforTech above.
Department of Social Services Heating Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)
Contact: HEAP Unit at 379-2116, 379-2303, 379-2373, or 379-2342, 6 Judson Street, Canton
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: Heating Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) includes heating assistance from November through May. Public assistance programs include emergency utility shut offs, emergency fuel, furnace replacement and furnace repair.
East Side Neighborhood Improvement Program
Contact: Ralph Brungard, Rehabilitation Coordinator or Jerry Peck, Code Enforcement Officer at 287-0403, 33 Clinton Street, Gouverneur, NY 13642
Target area: Gouverneur Village only
Services: First Time Homebuyer Program, home repair grants for homeowners with income eligibility, $20,000 maximum grant, village-wide program targeted to low income, fixed income and code violations,
home repair for landlords, grants and loans.
Emergency Food and Shelter Program (Formerly Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Contact: Kathy Fregoe at Community Development Program, 386-1102
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: A one time, last resort assistance program. Everything else has been exhausted. Has to be an emergency or facing an eviction. FEMA funds can be used for rent, a mortgage payment to prevent foreclosure, utilities and food. Cannot be used for deposits or late charges.
Helping Hands of Potsdam
Contact: Cindy Talcott at 268-0633, helpinghands@slic.com
Target area: Towns of Potsdam (including Norwood), Parishville, Colton, South Colton, Pierrepont, West Stockholm, Madrid and Norfolk
Services: Local donations allow the program to offer a food pantry; assistance with furniture (no appliances), home goods, fuel assistance, rent assistance, utility assistance, prescription assistance and help purchasing glasses. An Alcoa Foundation grant allows Helping Hands to offer dental assistance.
Massena Independent Living Center
Contact: Jeff Reifensnyder 764-9442
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: Assists disabled people toward independence. Architectural assessments include site visit to homes and businesses to assess needs; assistance with searching for funding; overview of construction bids and referrals.
Massena Rehabilitation
Contact: Dale Beaulieau, Coordinator and Avis Hazelton, Secretary at 769-6803
Target area: Must live within the village limits
Services: Small Cities Program includes loans and deferred loans for home repair for targeted streets.
DANC Program includes housing rehabilitation for very low-income homeowners.
Ministries in the North Country (MINC)
Contact: Sheryl Evans at 322-4271
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: MINC provides emergency assistance for people who qualify for HEAP or whose income is just above the financial cutoff for HEAP. May provide emergency food gift certificates. MINC has a summer work program to make homes warmer, safer, and drier, for the working poor, elderly and disabled homeowners. Homeowners are encouraged to help with the work. Donations are accepted, but not expected. People who qualify for HEAP and own their homes or have a land contract may qualify for this program. Volunteer youth and adult groups stay in a church for a week and work on homes, using funds donated by the work group, North Country Churches and individual donations.
Mohawk Indian Housing Corp.
Contact: Carol Lazore at 518-358-4860, mohawk@westelcom.com
Target area: Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, Rooseveltown, Massena, Fort Covington and Bombay
Services: Home improvement program for low-income residents offers home repairs to income eligible homeowners who will reside in the home five years subsequent to the work completion.
Neighborhood Centers – Community Development Program
Contact: Massena: 764-0050, Potsdam: 265-3920, Gouverneur: 287-3370 Canton: 386-3541,
Ogdensburg: 393-5561, Colton/Pierrrepont/Parishville: 262-3175
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: Food, clothing and other emergency financial assistance. Care and Share Funds assist with energy related problems such as hot water heater repair or replacement, furnace repair, electric shut off, heat shut off, etc. Must be a Niagara Mohawk customer and be refused by HEAP, age 60 or older, collecting Social Security Disability, or have a medical emergency documented by a physician. Limit $500.
North Country Affordable Housing
Contact: Barbara Willis at 1-866-653-8724 or Renee Regis 287-0890, ghwillis@westelcom.com
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: NCAH offers two programs to assist low-income households in St. Lawrence County. One assists with a grant of $20,000 or more toward the cost of replacing owner-occupied substandard housing, either manufactured or stick built, with a new stick-built home. The other is a $20,000 grant towards the cost of building a new home, either stick-built or modular. Both programs have a ten-year owner-occupancy requirement; if not met, the homeowner must repay at least a portion of the grant amount. Applications are available online at www.northcountryaffordablehousing.com.
Potsdam Planning & Development Office
Contact: Fred Hanss at 265-3045, fhanss@vi.potsdam.ny.us
Target area: Village and Town of Potsdam
Services: The Village and Town of Potsdam have fully committed all available HOME Program, Small Cities CDBG and the Village's Home Improvement Loan Program funds. Both the Town and the Village are considering reapplying for funding through the HOME and CDBG Programs in 2006.
The Salvation Army
Contact: Captain Cecelia Lynch, Massena Service Corps at 769-5154, sarmy1@twcny.rr.com, Chief John Kaplan, Potsdam Service Unit at 265-2121, Captain John Edmonds, Ogdensburg Service Corps at 393-3351
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: Each Service Corp and Service Unit offers different services according to budget allocations. Contact each location for specific programs. May provide food pantry, rent assistance, utility/fuel assistance, prescription assistance, disaster services, counseling, budgeting classes, youth and after school programs, adult programs and thrift store.
St. Lawrence County Community Development Program
Contact: Jerry Snell at 386-1102, jsnell969@yahoo.com
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services:
Weatherization Program
Provides energy related repairs for HEAP eligible homeowners, if the home is a mobile home you must own the land or have legal life lease. This program has a very long waiting list.
Weatherization Network Initiative (WNI)
Serves previous weatherization clients and can install new refrigerators if they meet eligibility standards.
Restore Program
Provides emergency repairs and assistance for electrical, plumbing, heating, roof repair/replacement, steps, septic, and drilled wells for the elderly ages 60 and older.
Home Rehabilitation Program
Each year, a new target area grant is available for moderate overall home repair. This program has limited funds, but if selected all types of home repair is available.
Emergency Furnace Repairs or Replacement
Referrals through the Department of Social Services (DSS)
Assisted Home Performance with Energy Star® same as ComforTech and CES above.
St. Lawrence County Office of the Aging
Contact: Stacey Kass at 386-4730, skass@co.st-lawrence.ny.us
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: WRAP (Weatherization, Referral and Packaging) program is for St. Lawrence County residents age 60 and older who receive HEAP (or are income eligible for HEAP). Home improvements and modifications to better weatherize the home are coordinated with other county home weatherization, repair and/or modification programs. WRAP funding is last resort funding utilized to leverage other agency funding and help complete the "package" of needed weatherization assistance to senior citizens.
EMPOWER
This program provides cost-effective energy efficiency measures, particularly lighting and refrigerator replacements. Other cost-effective energy efficiency measures may also qualify. To benefit from this program, a household must be referred by Niagara Mohawk or Office for the Aging. The energy efficiency services are delivered by local contractors and appliance venders. This is a NYSERDA-sponsored program funded through the System Benefits Charge.
St. Lawrence County Housing Council
Contact: Becky Geidel at 386-8576, rgeidel@slchc.org
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: Provide financial assistance to homeowners or first time homebuyers through grants and loans in target areas of the county as determined by grants. Low-income residents not within a target area may be eligible can apply for housing rehabilitation targeting roofs, septic systems, electrical, siding, and insulation. Ramps and other home alterations may be available to disabled clients.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Contact: Toni Fiacco-Price at 769-1200 in Massena, Joseph Denocourt at 393-2635 in Ogdensburg
Target area: Massena and some surrounding areas and Ogdensburg. Each St. Vincent De Paul is a separate organization and offers services to its own target community.
Services: Provide assistance including rent, prescription, utilities and food pantry. Offer “Gabriel’s Helping Hand” for low-income mothers and caretakers from pregnancy up to the age of three.
USDA Rural Economic Development
Contact: Bill Coles at 386-2401 ext. 4, william.coles@usda.gov
Target area: St. Lawrence County
Services: USDA Rural Economic Development offers Section 504 loans and grants to assist very low-income households in rural areas repair their homes. Loan funds may be used to make general repairs and improvements to properties or to remove health and safety hazards, as long the dwelling remains modest in size and design.
How to Obtain Fuel Assistance in St. Lawrence County
- Apply to DSS (Department of Social Services) for HEAP Benefits.
- Once the first HEAP allotment has been used up, apply for HEAP benefit number two.
- If electricity is necessary to have heat, there is a final HEAP benefit of $125.00 for assistance with an electric shutoff.
- Once HEAP benefits are exhausted, contact Reachout at 265-2422. Reachout will help the client contact agencies in their community for appropriate assistance. For example, in Massena referrals will be made to the Salvation Army, Neighborhood Centers, and St. Vincent De Paul. These agencies get Emergency Food and Shelter funds from the local (formerly known as) FEMA Board.