As outside temperatures drop, Rowan Helping Ministries is reminding county residents that it has funding available to help them stay warm in their homes.

Rowan Helping Ministries administers the Crisis Intervention Program in Rowan County for the North Carolina Department of Social Services. Funding from this program is used to help those who have trouble paying for heat or heating their homes during the winter, said Sherry Smith, director of the Crisis Assistance Network for the agency.

“This program has specific rules that we must use in distributing the money to Rowan County residents, including that it must be used for a heating crisis,” Smith said.

To qualify for Crisis Intervention Program assistance, Rowan County residents:

• Must use funds for the primary heating source in their homes. Funds can be used to pay deposits or reconnect fees for heat, to pay past due heating bills or to pay for repairs to the primary heating source.
• Must bring verification of 2015 income from a job or from other income sources – SSI, disability, WorkFirst, pension, etc.
• Must be experiencing a heating crisis, such as receiving from the utility company a notice to disconnect.

“This is an important source of funding and we want to be sure that people who need it know that is available to them if they qualify,” Smith said.

Last year, a 74-year-old veteran who had been homeless was able to remain in his new home with this assistance, she recalled. When the weather was mild, he had his heat turned off to save money. As winter started, he could not yet afford the deposit needed to restore heat. He lived for four months without heat until one of his friends told him about the funding at Rowan Helping Ministries.

“He was so excited that we could help,” Smith recalled.

Rowan Helping Ministries has other funds available to help with heat crises or financial emergencies that occur during the winter.

“Rowan County residents need to come in and bring the necessary documents, and then we can look at all the programs available to see how we can help,” Smith said.

Residents must apply in person at Rowan Helping Ministries’ Crisis Assistance Network, 216 N. Long St. Residents should call the agency at 704-637-6838 before they come to get an approximate appointment time.

Those who have no transportation can register with the Rowan Individual Transportation Assistance Program to get safe, reliable and affordable transportation. The program operates Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. and the fare is no more than $2 per stop for residents of Rowan County. For more information on the transportation program, call the Rowan Transit System at 704-216-8888.