Overview
- The HEAP cooling benefit, which opened Wednesday, pays up to $800 for a window or portable unit or a fan and up to $1,000 for an existing wall-sleeve unit, covering purchase and installation.
- Households qualify if they meet income limits or receive SNAP, Temporary Assistance, or SSI Code A, and they must show a medical risk from heat or have a member under 6 or 60 and older, plus eligible residency and no working AC under five years old.
- Applicants can file by phone with their local HEAP district, apply in person at a district office, or apply online in New York City through ACCESS HRA.
- The program provides one cooling device per household and does not give cash, and it supplies a fan when installing an air conditioner would not be safe.
- State officials say requests will be handled until funding runs out, and coverage notes that past cooling rounds often depleted in weeks as HEAP also serves more than a million homes each year for heating and cooling.