The program, funded primarily with COVID relief money, provided free air conditioning units and fans the last three summers. It saw overwhelming demand.
Pennsylvanians hoping to receive free air conditioners through a utility assistance program will be out of luck this summer.
The state will not run its popular summer LIHEAP cooling program due to a funding shortfall, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
A summer without the program will mean more suffering for Philadelphians without working air conditioning — and possibly even deaths, said Donna Backues, coordinator of community and family wellness at SEAMAAC (Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition), a South Philly–based nonprofit that serves immigrants and refugees and helped several clients apply for the program last summer…