Older adults in Georgia and North Carolina can apply for winter heating help starting Dec. 1, a full month before everyone else in those states. Georgia’s program opens on Dec. 1 for people 65 and older and the medically homebound, and North Carolina takes sign-ups from Dec. 1 to 31 from households with someone 60 or older. Oklahoma has not set a firm date, but its human services department lists Dec. 15 as the expected opening.
The early windows exist because the money is limited and the cold arrives before the funds run out. Anyone in these states who is 60 or 65 and behind on a gas, electric, propane or oil bill has a few weeks to gather paperwork before the first day arrives. Applicants who wait for the general opening in January are competing with every other household for what is left…