The Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Economic Opportunities Commission and the Pine Bluff Convention Center are working together to help Pine Bluff residents pay their energy bills.
The Pine Bluff Convention Center is having a two-day resource fair that started Monday and ends Tuesday afternoon. The fair starts at 8:30 a.m and ends at 2 p.m. The goal of the event is to provide assistance to residents who are looking for help paying their energy bills through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“We have been having this event at the convention center for at least four years now,” EOC Community Service Director Sandra Jones said. “We have limited space at our main office on Cherry Street. Working with the convention center gives us more space and helps us prevent people from waiting out in the cold.”
Monday was the first day for the resource fair and there were many people who came by looking for assistance.
“We had around 200 people show up this morning,” Jones said. “[Tuesday] we are expecting around 400 people to show up.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Residents looking to apply must meet the income guidelines for LIHEAP. All applicants must provide photo identification and copies of their gas and electric bills, regardless of which bill needs to be paid, Jones said.
Applicants will also need to bring Social Security numbers, proof of income and birth dates for all household members and must meet the LIHEAP income guidelines.
There are also about eight vendor booths at the resource fair, some of which can provide more assistance for residents in need. The booths include, EOC Head Start program, AssureSource Intergrated Health Solutions, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and Southeast Arkansas College.
Once the resource fair is over, the EOC will still help residents looking for help registering for LIHEAP at their main office at 817 S. Cherry St.
According to their website, the EOC is a private nonprofit organization that operates with many different programs that offer opportunities, services and support to help individuals and families achieve economic self-sufficiency.
“We have other services besides utility assistance,” Jones said. “We have the Head Start program, weatherization, medical aid and many more programs to help the residents of Jefferson County.”