Home Heating Fuel and Crisis Assistance Programs for 2007 - 2008

Fairfax County Department of Family Services
12011 Government Center Parkway, Suite 500
Fairfax, VA 22035-1102
Contact: Belinda Buescher, Public Information Officer
703-324-7758, TTY 703-222-9452
DFSPIO@fairfaxcounty.gov

September 25, 2007

County announces start of home heating fuel
and crisis assistance programs for 2007 - 2008

Fairfax County residents who need help to pay home heating bills or who face an emergency heating situation this winter may be able to access assistance from two federally funded programs locally administered by the county’s Department of Family Services.

The Fuel Assistance program helps eligible low-income households with the costs of heating their homes. This year, the application period for the fuel assistance program begins on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007, and closes on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007.

The Crisis Assistance program helps households in emergency situations by providing primary heat security deposits and funding the repair or replacement of heating equipment. The Crisis Assistance application period begins Thursday, Nov.1, 2007, and closes on Monday, March 17, 2008.

To apply for these programs, call the Department of Family Services’ energy assistance phone line at 703-324-7604 (TTY: 703-222-9452) and ask for an application to be mailed to you, or pick up an application at any of the department’s four offices:

• Fairfax - Pennino Building, 12011 Government Center Parkway
  703-324-7500, TTY 703-222-9452
• Falls Church - 6245 Leesburg Pike (Route 7), Falls Church
  703-533-5300, TTY 703-533-5316
• Reston - Lake Anne Office Building, 11484 Washington Plaza West, Reston
  703-787-4900, TTY 703-707-9346
• Richmond Highway/Alexandria - South County Center, 8350 Richmond Hwy (Rt. 1)
  703-704-6353, TTY 703-799-3435

The Department of Family Services offers extended office hours for public assistance services at all of the offices listed above, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Applications are also available on the Web from the Virginia Department of Social Services at www.dss.virginia.gov