The longest federal shutdown may be in the rearview mirror, but delays in home-heating assistance have local officials and utility companies scrambling to fill the gap for thousands of area residents who rely on heating assistance to get through the winter months.

The shutdown froze funding for the federal Home Energy Assistance Program — known as HEAP — which helps low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities pay their heating bills. Applications were originally scheduled to open on Nov. 3 but were delayed indefinitely by the shutdown.

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