SAFFORD — Just 10 days into the new year, the organization that helped vulnerable families with the high cost of utilities said a change by the state is putting those families at risk.
Yvette Ramirez, executive director for Southeastern Arizona Community Action Program, told the Safford City Council that the state Department of Economic Security has taken over the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, moving the application online.
“We need you guys to see how difficult it would be for a senior citizen to complete that application on a portal, on a computer. And then to have to upload all that documentation and send it in to see if they qualify for assistance,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said efforts to meet with DES to make adjustments to the application process have been unsuccessful, which is why she was reaching out to elected officials in the communities SEACAP serves in hopes of initiating change.
Vice Mayor Richard Ortega, who sits on the Southeastern Arizona Governments Organization executive board; Councilman Arnold Lopez, who sits on SEAGO’s Area on Aging board; and Councilman Michael Andazola, who is president of the Southeastern Arizona Community Unique Services board; all said they would bring the issue to their boards in an effort to set a meeting with state officials.
“We need to take care of these people,” Andazola said. “These people are . . . the citizens of this community, and they need to be represented well and not be overcharged or anything like that.”
