LIHEAP's 40th Anniversary - It’s time to celebrate!
LIHEAP turns 40! Congress created LIHEAP—the federal home energy assistance program—on August 13, 1981. While the federal government provided energy assistance before then, 1981 became the turning point for the program becoming a block grant through which funding is awarded to the governments of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and approximately 150 tribes and tribal organizations. As a block grant, LIHEAP gives these grantees expansive flexibility to address their community’s needs, based on the community’s specific climate factors and home energy costs. LIHEAP serves millions of households each year, but LIHEAP assistance is particularly important for people who are most negatively impacted by unhealthy indoor air and temperatures such as seniors, young children, and the disabled.
Join us in the celebration through reading and watching our virtual commemorations below—and make sure to join in the online conversation at: #LIHEAP40
- Happy birthday/anniversary videos including remarks from ACF leaders
- Social media postings about LIHEAP will be posted on Facebook and Twitter
- A letter detailing the commemoration events
- You can read about how LIHEAP can help with heat stress in the summer and cold waves in the winter
- You can learn more about LIHEAP’s impacts
- You can find out what responsibilities LIHEAP grantees have in administering the program
- You can see the program funding history on the OCS LIHEAP page
Families and individuals in need of energy assistance can contact their state or tribe, a local application intake team , or call the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) hotline at 1-866-674-6327 for support with home heating and cooling bills.
Congratulations, LIHEAP, on 40 years of helping children, families, and others stay healthy and safe in their homes!