Ohio Home Energy Assistance Program

The everyday "hassles" people in need face that create difficult and often unattainable hoops to jump through when seeking government assistance. Officials say these are necessary to root out fraud and ensure assistance to those that need it most but researchers say otherwise.

Akron residents struggling to pay water and sewer bills will get a break this holiday season: The city will stop water service disconnections until next month. Akron is under a federal court order to improve its water and sewer system infrastructure — a project that comes with a $1 billion price tag, said Press Secretary Ellen Lander-Nischt. “That’s caused us to have to raise water and sewer rates over the years to some pretty high levels,” Lander-Nischt said. “It is a significant expense for families in Akron and we understand that.”