Special to the American Press

The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury’s Human Services Department is partnering with Catholic Charities, Project Build a Future and the Calcasieu Council on Aging to launch “Project Excessive Heat” to provide air conditioning window units to qualifying residents.

More than 100 air conditioning units will be available for distribution through Human Services and its partners.

“Unfortunately, throughout much of the southern part of the country, communities are experiencing excessive heat conditions, creating unsafe and potentially life-threating situations,” said Tarek Polite, human services director. “Utilizing available grant funds, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and a few of its non-profit partners want to do everything we can to assist as many eligible citizens as possible with a cooling unit, to hopefully reduce the chances of someone experiencing a heat-related illness or death.”

To qualify, residents must meet the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) income guidelines, as follows:

One-person household- $29,160

Two-person household- $39,440

Three-person household- $49,270

Four-person household- $60,000

Five-person household- $70,280

Six-person household- $80,560

Seven-person household- $90,840

Eight-person household- 101,120

In addition, households must meet one or more of these criteria: must be a Calcasieu Parish resident; have someone in the household who is 15 years old or younger or age 60 or older; someone in the household who is pregnant; or someone living there who has a disability that is declared by the Social Security Administration and can be documented.

To apply, residents must call the Human Services appointment line at 337-721-4033 starting at 8 a.m. Monday, July 24. The appointment line will not be available until this date.

At that time, applicants will be assigned an appointment date and time to complete the application process.

During their appointments, applicants will be required to provide photo identification, proof of household income (monthly or annually) and Social Security cards for all household members. Residents’ applications will be screened for duplications and those meeting the requirements will be scheduled for verification. Once verified, the applications will be referred to one of the partnering agencies, who will use qualified volunteers to install the window units.

For more information, call 337-721-4030.