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Gas-card giveaways aid area families
People are torn between the cost of food, heat and gasoline, the head of Columbiana County’s JFS says.
LISBON — The note reads, “I am so grateful to your program. I almost cried when I left. Thanks so very much.”
The writer, a woman, was thankful for gas money.
Eileen Dray-Bardon, director of the Columbiana County Department of Job Family Services, said Wednesday her department received the note this week — after it gave away $91,000 in gas cards on Monday and Tuesday.
Dray-Bardon said people are struggling as they decide whether to spend money on groceries, home heating or gasoline. So, the department decided to use $500,000 of its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds on the gas effort.
Some 449 people applied for the gas cards, but some people were not eligible.
Eligible people were able to receive up to a $300 gas card. The person must have a job.
“The idea is to help people get to work,” said Dray-Bardon.
People can apply at two locations in Lisbon and one in East Liverpool.
Dray-Bardon said that people should call first to see if they qualify.
“We don’t want them to use their gas to drive to one of the locations and find they aren’t eligible,” Dray-Bardon said.
The good news is that the demand seems to be slowing. Dray-Bardon said that one site had about 30 people applying late Wednesday morning as compared to 80 people at the same time Tuesday.
The plan calls for the money to be available until June 30, which is when the TANF funding would end.
The qualification is an income up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level.
The monthly income could be as low as $1,107 for a noncustodial parent. A parent with one child could make $1,484.