Community Development
Utility Assistance Funding & Education
While OCD staff and community partners have provided the community with updates about the increasing local need for human services in recent months, we wanted to ensure the community was made aware of some more recent changes in state and federal funding for utility assistance in particular. Between actual and proposed funding reductions from multiple sources, Washtenaw County is poised to lose over $19 million dollars in utility assistance funds in the coming months – and potentially more if the federal budget situation worsens.
In an effort to educate local residents about reductions in funding – as well as about the importance of reducing usage and paying bills on time to prevent utility arrearages and shut-offs – human service providers from our Barrier Busters Network along with staff from various departments created an informational brochure that will be distributed to low-income residents through food pantries, the Housing Access for Washtenaw County, and other human services providers in the coming weeks.
This utility assistance brochure was made possible due to the generous support of the Washtenaw Coordinated Funders – a partnership between the County, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the City of Ann Arbor, the United Way of Washtenaw County, and the Washtenaw Urban County. Having received some initial feedback from nonprofit providers already, it is clear that they are incredibly grateful for this educational tool and for our communty's leadership in and continued support of Coordinated Funding efforts.
As we receive more information from our state and federal contacts, we will certainly keep the community up-to-date regarding these funding changes.
