No free A/C units through LIHEAP in Pennsylvania this summer

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Pennsylvanians hoping to receive free air conditioners through a utility assistance program will be out of luck this summer.

The state will not run its popular summer LIHEAP cooling program due to a funding shortfall, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

A summer without the program will mean more suffering for Philadelphians without working air conditioning — and possibly even deaths, said Donna Backues, coordinator of community and family wellness at SEAMAAC (Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition), a South Philly–based nonprofit that serves immigrants and refugees and helped several clients apply for the program last summer.

“There’s just a lot of poverty in Philadelphia, so just because of that, there’s people that need it,” she said. “A lot of times, there’s a lot of people living in one house, so one fan’s not going to do it.”

The last three summers, the cooling program provided eligible Pennsylvania families two Energy Star–rated room air conditioner units, one A/C unit and a fan, or replacement of a broken central air conditioning system.

The program was funded with federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) money left over after the winter heating season, during which the program helps families pay their heating bills.