Energy Assistance Program Now Accepting Applications

September 1, 2022


 
View this email in your browser
Dear Neighbor,

The start of school is here! West Hartford students will head back to class this week. Earlier this week, I was happy to join West Hartford teachers at their Convocation at Conard High School to celebrate the start of the 2022-23 school year.

Thank you to every teacher, paraeducator, counselor, staff member, and administrator in each and every school. They’ve continued to motivate and inspire our kids to learn and grow, especially through difficult times resulting from COVID-19. How they've cared for our children and community does not go unnoticed. May these first days be a start of a great year ahead!
 
COVID-19 UPDATE
Friday, September 2 will be the last day you can order FREE COVID-19 tests from the federal government. 

Please visit covid.gov/tests to order free tests. 

Every home in the U.S. can request 3 orders of free at-home tests (16 tests total) per residential address. 
 
LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS
More than $78 million in state child tax credit checks have gone out to eligible families in Connecticut! About 178,000 check have been sent and another 20,000 applications are being processed.

The child tax payment was enacted as part of the budget bill to provide taxpayers with $250 per child for a maximum of three children. Connecticut families that claimed at least on dependent child 18 years or younger on their 2021 federal income tax return were eligible to apply if they met income guidelines. So far, rebates have been approved for 189,374 families on behalf of 317,044 children. You can read more about this here. 
 
STATE & LOCAL RESOURCES
Applications for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) will open on September 1, 2022. Administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services, CEAP provides winter heating cost assistance to income-eligible households regardless of their heat source. People should contact their local Community Action Agency to apply. Statewide consumer and application information is available at www.ct.gov/staywarm or by calling 2-1-1. Both homeowners and renters can be eligible. CEAP helps enrollees afford the cost of natural gas and electric heat, as well as deliverable fuels like oil and propane.
 
Yesterday was Overdose Awareness Day, which raises awareness and seeks to reduce the stigma of the national issue surrounding drug-related overdoses. Anyone in our state who needs support or treatment can access a wide network of services offered in Connecticut. To connect to these resources, visit www.liveloud.org or call the 24-hour helpline at 1-800-563-4086.

To help combat this epidemic, our state is making Naloxone (Narcan) more accessible. So far, the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services is on track to distribute its goal of more than 45,000 Narcan kits across the state. Narcan is a life-saving tool in reducing overdose deaths.

The Town of West Hartford and the West Hartford Prevention Partnership will be offering FREE QPR Gatekeeper (suicide prevention) and Narcan Administration training. Participants will learn how to save a life in two ways.

This event is being held in honor of World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. This day aims to raise awareness about suicide prevention and empower individuals to address self-harm and suicide. Click here to learn more about this training.
 
The state Department of Transportation has announced that the I-84 Eastbound Exit 40 on-ramp from New Britain Ave and the I-84 Westbound Exit 40 off-ramp to New Britain Ave in West Hartford will be closed intermittently at night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. The closures will start on September 6, 2022 and will occur over the next 4 months. 

A detour for I-84 East Exit 40 on-ramp will direct traffic along New Britain Avenue, onto South Street, and entering I-84 Eastbound at Exit 41.

A detour for I-84 West Exit 40 off-ramp will direct traffic to Exit 39A following Route 9 Southbound to Exit 30. 
 
As always, if I can be of assistance to you and your family, please reach out to me at 860-240-8585 or email me at Kate.Farrar@cga.ct.gov. Follow @KateforCT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on everything I'm doing at the Capitol!

Sincerely,

Kate Farrar
State Representative
she/her/hers
Website
Website
Email
Email
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Twitter
Instagram
Instagram

Forward to a friend | Unsubscribe from this list | Update subscription preferences