The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) opens November 2, 2009. This program helps homeowners or renters with low or fixed incomes meet their families heating needs through home heating energy assistance grants and crisis grants. The Parental Stress Center, located at 5877 Commerce Street, Pittsburgh 15206, in East Liberty, is equipped to help eligible individuals file and mail their LIHEAP applications through an online system called The Benefit Bank©, similar to the state COMPASS system. This year the income limit is set at 150% of the Federal Poverty Level. Below is a table with income limits specific to size of household. People can also apply for Dollar Energy assistance at the Parental Stress Center. If you meet the eligibility guidelines for LIHEAP you must apply for LIHEAP first before applying for Dollar Energy assistance. Once you have filed your LIHEAP application you can apply for Dollar Energy assistance at the Parental Stress Center.

If your income is above the LIHEAP income guidelines you may be eligible for Dollar Energy as their limit is set at 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. For example, a family of 4 can have income as high as $44,100. For more information or assistance please contact Gwen Williams or Laura Minnichelli at the Parental Stress Center: 412-361-4800. They can answer your questions, determine eligibility over the phone, and schedule an appointment for you to come to PSC and apply.

LIHEAP Income Guidelines 2009-2010:

Household Size : Income Limit

1 : $16,245

2 : $21,855

3 : $27,465

4 : $33,075

5 : $38,685

6 : $44,295

7 : $49,050

8 : $55,515

9 : $61, 125

10 : $66,735

The Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation is sponsoring a “School Choice Fair” on November 10th from 4:00-6:00p.m. The fair is an open-house, where you can drop in at your own convenience. Come and speak directly to representatives from over 30 K-12 public, private, charter, cyber, and religious schools from across the city. Find out about their academic achievement levels, safety records, special needs programming, extracurricular activities, financial aid, and more. Then YOU can choose which school is right for your child. This event is open to parents and guardians as well as community leaders who want to find out how to empower families with information about educational opportunities. The event will take place at the St. Lawrence O’Toole Activity Center located on 140 N. Atlantic Avenue. For more information call 412-441-9833.

Participating Schools:

The Campus School at Carlow University

Career Connections Charter High School

Central Catholic High School

City Charter High School

The Ellis School

Imagine Environmental Charter School

Manchester Academic Charter School

The Neighborhood Academy

Oakland Catholic High School

The Oakland School

The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School

Pittsburgh Allderdice High School

Pittsburgh Arsenal PreK-5

Pittsburgh Arsenal 6-8

Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12

Pittsburgh Ft. Pitt ALA

Pittsburgh Fulton

Pittsburgh International Baccalaureate 6-10

Pittsburgh Langley High School

Pittsburgh Miller African Centered Academy

Pittsburgh Perry Traditional Academy

Pittsburgh Public Schools Magnet Programs

Pittsburgh Schiller Classical Academy

Pittsburgh Science & Technology Academy

Pittsburgh Sterrett 6-8

Propel Schools

Shady Side Academy

St. John Neumann Regional Catholic School

The Urban League Charter School

Waldorf School of Pittsburgh

… more signing up every day!

It is that time of year again!! It is time for jack-o-lanterns, shrieking at haunted houses, wearing outlandish costumes and for those still young at heart, trick-or-treating. Halloween is one of the world’s oldest holidays that is celebrated all over the world. In China, the Halloween festival is known as “Teng Chieh”, where food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bonfires and lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Halloween night. In Mexico, Latin America, and Spain, they celebrate “El Dia de los Muertos”, which means the Day of the Dead. It is a three day celebration that begins on the eve of October 31^st and ends on November 2^nd. Designed to honor the dead who are believed to return to their homes on Halloween, many families construct an altar in their home and decorate it with candy, flowers, photographs, fresh water and samples of the deceased’s favorite foods and drinks. During the celebration, parades are held, where people dress as skeletons and dance in the streets. In Ireland and Canada, Halloween, which was once a frightening and superstitious time of year, is celebrated much as it is in the United States, with trick-or-treating, costume parties, and fun for all ages.

The Halloween spirit has trickled over to East Liberty this year. There a number of activities planned for children and adults to participate in on Halloween. Determining which activity to attend might be a harder than deciding on a Halloween costume! Check out the fun activities listed below, and pick one if you dare!!

East Liberty’s 1^st Annual October Harvest Festival: October 30^th 4:30-9:00p.m., October 31^st 11:00am- 8:30 p.m., Located at 344 N. Sheridan Avenue & Rodman Street, across from the Home Depot, Cost: Free, There will be a parade, live entertainment, vendors, petting zoo, haunted house, face painting, arts and crafts, and more!

Halloween Mayhem: October 31^st 1:00-5:00p.m., Located at Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre on 5941 Penn Avenue, Family-friendly activities including trick-or-treating, mask making with Squonk Opera, Spooky Storytelling on stage, Cost: Free, From 8:00p.m.-2:00a.m. there will be a Zombie History 101 Movie Marathon, plus live performances, activities, dancing and more for adults! Cost: $10, $5 with a costume.

East Liberty Harvest Day: October 31^st 10:00am-1:00pm, Located behind Peabody High School, at corner of Black and Beatty Street, Cost: Free, Join GTECH, ELDI and your neighbors on as we complete the 2009 growing season by harvesting seeds! For more details, contact Maureen at 412-241-1013 ext 3.

If you haven’t already signed up, check out The Black and Gold City Goes Green! Learn how to save energy and money while reducing heat-trapping gases and help East Liberty Development, Inc. compete in the new competition! “The Black and Gold City Goes Green” is the first attempt by any city in the nation to run a citywide citizen action campaign to cut global warming. The goal of the campaign is to work together to reduce heat-trapping gases from global warming, with a significant measurable decrease expected by January 2010. At the website, www.blackandgoldcitygoesgreen.com participants may track their environmental impact and see how the rest of the city is doing.

You can find fact sheets, and a monthly action calendar on the website. Each month’s action will also include calculations of the amount of heat-trapping gases saved, names and contact information for local experts on that action, and information about training in green jobs. This month, the campaign encourages you to turn the thermostat down, get a home energy audit, and insulate your home.

The community organization contest has already started so sign up now! East Liberty Development Inc. is one the many community organizations signing up for the campaign. Select ELDI under “How did you hear about the campaign?” You can also register your own block group, tenant council or neighborhood organization to compete. If you have already signed up, you can still choose your organization at the website. Winners will be announced December 2, 2009. To sign up for the campaign, please go to www.blackandgoldcitygoesgreen.com.

On October 20^th, Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest (Friends) will partner with Sojourner House MOMS to plant trees around MOMS House facilities in East Liberty. Sojourner House MOMS is an organization that provides permanent housing to help rebuild families torn apart by addiction and poverty. Through this project, Friends will bring together MOM House families with other dedicated local residents for a truly community –driven revitalization of the East Liberty neighborhood. The community improvement project will take place on Tuesday, October 20^th, from 3:00-6:00p.m. at Sojourner House MOMS located at 5545 Black Street in East Liberty.

On Tuesday, over 70 volunteers will plant 20 tress along Black and Hays Streets to restore the once verdant tree line. Residents, families and members of the wider East Liberty community, along with 50 Home Depot team associates from Home Depot stores around the area will be in attendance to make the day even more special. “The Home Depot’s core values of ‘Giving Back’ and ‘Doing the Right Thing’ are a perfect fit for the impact we’re trying to make in this community,” said Danielle Crumrine, Executive Director of Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest.

A number of special guests will be in attendance at the event. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will attend and speak, as will Sojourner House Executive Director Joann Cyganovich. This campaign to make housing in Pittsburgh healthier, greener and more affordable through trees is made possible in part by a $10,000 National NeighborWoods Grant from the Alliance for Community Trees and The Home Depot Foundation. Friends of the Urban Forest is one of ten organizations nationwide that received this highly competitive challenge grant in support of urban forestry and affordable housing partnerships.

The Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center has arranged a medical career exploration fair at the Kingsley Association on Wednesday, October 14 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Come learn about UPMC job openings, attend workshops, gain access to training programs and meet recruiters. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will be in attendance at the fair as well. The Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center is also offering free computer classes to the public throughout the month of October at their office building located at 5321 Penn Avenue, Pgh, PA 15224 .
The schedule is as follows:

Introduction to Computers: Tuesdays, 10am- noon, 10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27

Introduction to Windows: Tuesdays, 1 p.m.-3p.m., 10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27

Introduction to the Internet: Thursdays, 10am- noon , 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29

Introduction to Word: Thursday, 1p.m.-3p.m., 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29

For more information about Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center’s services, please call 412-362-8580.

Please contribute on October 28^th to East Liberty Development, Inc.’s revitalization efforts through our region’s community foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation. The Pittsburgh Foundation has recently established the Pittsburgh Gives program to make it easier for people to contribute to causes they are passionate about all year around with a new online giving website: www.pittsburghgives.org. On Wednesday, October 28^th at 10am sharp, The Pittsburgh Foundation will match donations of $50.00 or more with 50 cents for every dollar donated. The foundation will match your dollars until its pool of $200,000 matching funds is exhausted; therefore it is important that donations are made at 10 am or soon thereafter. And remember, if you are interested in donating, please make sure to pre-register before the match day at www.pittsburghgives.org.

Since 1999, ELDI has worked in collaboration with community stakeholders, to act as a catalyst for positive change by providing leadership in the areas of planning, advocacy, image building, and investment. If you are interested in donating to our organization on October 28th please click on the Pittsburgh Gives logo above. If you miss the deadline for the matching funds, you can contribute anytime during the year to ELDI by clicking on the Pittsburgh Gives logo above.