The Greater Erie Community Action Committee runs many programs for low-income people. The organization helps those who are less fortunate, poor, and unemployed. – GECAC offers a variety of resources to residents of Pennsylvania, including information on education, employment, and community resources.
Rent, utility, and housing assistance programs from community action
Homeless prevention means having enough money to pay for rent, utilities, or a mortgage. All money is finite. The staff at the Erie County GECAC want their clients to be self-sufficient, so they will focus on providing job training and educational resources. The site will also tell you where to find food pantries and other places that can help you with your health.
The Homeless Assistance Program provides a lot of financial support to people. The Greater Erie Community Action Committee is a non-profit organization that helps eligible people pay for their rent, security deposit, mortgage, and utilities through the Homeless Assistance Program. The money from the payment or loan is sent to the applicant’s landlord, utility company, or other vendor.
People who are homeless or close to being homeless in the county are the main people who benefit from this. Aid is also for those who are homeless, in a group or domestic violence shelter, hotel/motel, mental health, drug or alcohol facility, in a condemned building, on streets or in cars.
This group of clients includes people who are living in a home or shelter, but due to domestic violence, they might have to foster care placement of their children solely because of a lack of adequate housing. The community action agency has funds that can help prevent homelessness for those who have been served an eviction notice from a District Justice. Grants may be issued to those who are living in a housing with life and/or health threatening conditions and who are from Erie County.
The Utility Bill Assistance program provides case management and financial assistance to low-income clients who are behind on their utility bill payments (for energy and heating) due to emergency situations. These programs help people with their energy bills. Dollar Energy Fund provides grants to low-income customers to help pay their energy bills. PCAP helps people with their energy bills and also provides weatherization services. NFG Neighbor-for-Neighbor helps people with their energy bills and also provides matching funds to help people make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. The most you can get from the Dollar Energy Fund is $500 and from NFG it’s $300.
The Greater Erie Community Action Committee also helps residents of Erie County by helping them maintain electric service and eliminating their past-due balance through the Customer Assistance Program. This program CAP offers a monthly utility bill reduction to those that qualify based on income and debt forgiveness.
This means that the credits are applied directly to the participant’s electric bill. The goals of CAP are to make it easier for customers to pay their bills, and to reduce the amount of money owed on electric accounts. The program also helps applicants save money on their electricity bills by reducing their overall consumption. However, they must participate in WARM in order to be eligible for these savings.
The Neighbor For Neighbor Heat Fund helps people who are struggling to pay for energy-related expenses. The program provides assistance to eligible individuals to pay overdue heating bills, to purchase fuel, oil or to repair heating equipment. To qualify for a grant in Erie County Pennsylvania, applicants must be at least 55 years old and have a certified medical crisis, or a member of their family must be either handicapped or have a disability.
If you receive financial support from Neighbor For Neighbor Heat, you do not have to be a customer of National Fuel. You need to live in Pennsylvania to work for this company.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a government program that helps low-income families pay for their energy bills. Eligible families can receive help with paying their heating bills, cooling bills, and even with weatherizing their homes. GECAC case workers can help people who are poor, low income, seniors, or disabled to apply for benefits. This means that the money can be used to pay either your heating bill or your electric bill, but not both. A Pennsylvania LIHEAP grant is a type of government grant that can be used to help pay for utility bills. This type of grant is typically given to low-income households or households that are experiencing financial hardship.
The Weatherization program provides free assistance and energy education to low income owners or renters with the goal of reducing energy usage. Contractors that are part of weatherization check the dwelling to see if it meets industry standards. It also tends to find the best solution for each individual and their household. The goal is to make the building more comfortable and energy efficient.
The GECAC WARM program is a program that helps people who are struggling with their heating bills. The GPU Energy Weatherization and Energy Education Program is a free program that helps customers in Erie County, Pennsylvania save money on energy costs. The program provides weatherization services and energy education to help customers reduce their energy consumption. To qualify for the savings from this program, applicants’ incomes must meet certain guidelines, they must have electric heat or electric water heat, and they must average $55 or more per month on their electric bills. Some of the ways we conserve energy in our homes include weather-proofing, caulking, insulating the attic, fixing broken windows, and maintaining our furnaces.
Dollar Energy Fund is one more option that can help with utility bills. The staff from the Greater Erie Community Action Committee helps the GPU residential customers to go through and apply to the Dollar Energy Fund. The program provides eligible applicants with a one-time grant each year to help with difficulties such as loss of employment, reduced work hours, illness, divorce, etc. The electric bill assistance is provided by a non-profit fund. The funding for this program is provided by the shareholders of First Energy, the customers of Penelec, and the employees of their company. This means that the grant money will be used to pay for the bill.
Free job training and education services
The Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC) is responsible for processing Head Start applications. The organization provides assistance to low-income families and their preschool children ages 3 to 5 via the Head Start program using government resources. The main goal of this tool is to help children be ready for school. It covers different areas of child development and offers ways to improve skills in each area.
The federal government’s Head Start Program has a tradition of improving the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development of children in Erie County.
The parents are also important. The program includes parents in their children’s learning and helps with the enrollment process. The program is most effective when parents use the resources available to them to improve their own literacy, education, and employment skills. If children enroll in Head Start, a program that provides early childhood education, they can improve their lives in many ways. This includes their education, early childhood development, health, nutrition, mental health, and access to community partnerships.
The Adult Education Program can help people who want to improve their skills in math, reading and other abilities. The program also includes learning English and preparing for the GED test. The program offers its participants a chance to gain knowledge about potential professions and available employment. Furthermore, the program is designed to be adaptable to each student’s personal needs. There are many extra services that can help students figure out what they want to do as a career and what kind of job they can get once they graduate.
The Adult Basic Classes provide participants with the basic skills and knowledge they need to be successful, including financial literacy. The Greater Erie Community Action Committee and its staff help people who want to continue their education after high school, prepare for the GED, or get a job. You can find financial literacy tips on investing by doing a simple internet search. This will allow you to find many articles, tips, and resources that can help you become more financially literate.
ESL stands for English as a Second Language. It is a term used to describe the process of teaching and learning English for people who speak another language as their first language. The program gives participants the chance to improve their language skills by taking classes in speaking, reading and writing. This program offers its services four days a week, during which students work in small groups.
The WRP / Work Ready Program provides employment and job search assistance to eligible individuals. The purpose of this program is to help people in the Erie County area get jobs and become independent. In order to enroll in Work Ready, one must be referred by the County Assistance Office. Many enrollees are currently receiving TANF.
The Work Ready Program provides support to people who are looking for work. This includes workshops to help with job searching, counseling to help with career planning, and on-site assistance to help with finding a job. All WRP participants are encouraged to attain goals underlined by the Employment Development and Retention Plan (EDRP), which is the final goal of the WRP. The EDRP is a plan that outlines the goals that the participants of the WRP should aim to achieve. The WRP provides every client with their own case manager who will help them achieve any goals they have. Those who enroll can also choose to use core or non-core activities.
The main activities are educational training, building skills for volunteers, attending high school or GED, being ready for a job, having opportunities for employment with and without government assistance, and being placed in a job where you can get paid experience.
You can look for jobs that let you work from home or remotely. The Erie County Community Action Agency can provide you with that information. There are many types of jobs that can be done remotely, including freelance and gig work, customer service, IT, and healthcare. There are more opportunities for freelancers to work from home now than ever before. With the advancement of technology, more businesses are willing to allow their employees to work remotely. This is a great opportunity for freelancers, as it gives them the flexibility to work from home.
GECAC provides case management services. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is designed to help families achieve self-sufficiency through intensive case management support services. The goal plan is designed to help participants improve their economic situation. As the individual’s income increases, the amount of their Section 8 subsidy also increases. This means that the participant will have more money in their account to use for living expenses and bills in the future.
Greater Erie Community Action Committee’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is always in high demand. It helps those who cannot afford to pay for tax preparation and those who are too old to do it themselves. The VITA program offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income (generally, $54,000 and below) people who cannot prepare their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) helps low-income seniors aged 55 and over find employment. The major objective of the program is to help older adults in Erie Pennsylvania develop new skills. The program can help them get a job and be placed into employment that is not supported by government funding.
The GECAC Money Works for You program is a financial literacy training program for eligible clients. In collaboration with United Way of Erie County, GECAC provides training in home repair and renovation economics. The Financial Literacy Training part of this course covers topics such as Banking Basics, Debt Reduction, Financial Planning, Budgeting, Credit Reports/Repair, and Educational Grants and Loans.
Apply for help from Erie County Community Action
Case managers help residents become independent and stable. For more details, please call the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC). The address is 18 West Ninth Street, Erie, PA 16501, and the phone number is (814) 459-4581.