NATCHEZ &045; If you or someone you know can’t afford to pay home heating bills, the AJFC Community Action Agency may have help for you.

The agency, whose Adams County office is on Clifton Avenue, has already given out more than $13,000 in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds from the federal government this winter.

&uot;But we still have some available,&uot; AJFC Case Manager Supervisor Sadie Bacon said. &uot;People need to call or come by to get their names on the (waiting) list.&uot;

Funds are distributed to those on the waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis and based on household income criteria.

&uot;But most everybody who comes in is qualified, because so many people have lost jobs in this area,&uot; Bacon said.

And additional help is on the way. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday announced it would provide another $762,233 in LIHEAP funds to Mississippi and an extra $600,587 to Louisiana.

It is not yet clear how much funding AJFC, which has offices in Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Claiborne, Lawrence, Lincoln and Copiah counties, will receive.

Dorothy Oliver &045; director for the LaSalle Community Action Agency, which serves Concordia &045; said she had not been notified of the extra funds as of Tuesday.

To be included on AJFC’s waiting list and find out what documentation you will need, call the agency at 442-8681.