Michigan delays heat aid, to help before shutoff, By David Eggert, October 7, 2013, Detroit News: “Michigan residents needing help with their utility bills as the weather cools must wait until November to apply, a change that coincides with an effort to keep customers from waiting to ask for assistance until facing a service shutoff. From Nov. 1 through May 31, people will qualify for help when they get a past-due notice and no longer have to wait until they accumulate so many warnings that their utilities could be cut off. Until now, residents had been able to apply for assistance year-round, often in October with the start of the new state budget…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty