Congress is considering cuts that would eliminate the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and deeply reduce the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). These proposals may look like budget decisions on paper — but here in the Berkshires, they will have immediate, tangible consequences.

 

If you think these programs don't affect you, think again. Whether you run a business, teach in a school, work in health care, pay property taxes, or simply live in a neighborhood — you will feel the impact.

 

CSBG and LIHEAP aren't just safety nets. They are economic stabilizers that protect working families, support local spending, and reduce pressure on emergency systems. When these programs disappear, so do jobs, consumer dollars, and community stability.

 

At Berkshire Community Action Council, CSBG is the core funding that allows us to meet local needs in real time. It helps keep 2,300 children warm each winter through our Children's Clothing Program. It supports our Food Depot, which supplies pantries across the county. It funds the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which helps low- and moderate-income residents claim refunds and tax credits — money that goes straight back into our local economy.

 

CSBG also fills the gaps no other funding can. It allows us to respond when a family faces eviction, when a senior can't afford transportation to a medical appointment, or when someone falls behind on a utility bill through no fault of their own. If this funding disappears, so does that flexibility — and so do those services.

 

LIHEAP, meanwhile, provides heating assistance to over 8,000 Berkshire households every year. That's not a statistic — it's a full quarter of our population. In a region with long, harsh winters, LIHEAP is not optional. It keeps homes warm, children safe, and older adults healthy.

 

LIHEAP also pays for emergency heating system repairs and replacements, ensuring that families don't face life-threatening cold with a broken furnace. When LIHEAP is cut, fuel assistance drops, repair services decline, and households are forced to choose between heat and other essentials.

 

You may not receive LIHEAP or CSBG support, but you will feel their loss:

These aren't theoretical outcomes — they are predictable economic consequences of removing basic protections.

 

Some will argue these programs should be scaled back to "cut costs." But that ignores the cost of doing nothing. When CSBG and LIHEAP prevent a crisis, they save money downstream — on hospital stays, shelter placements, court proceedings, and lost productivity. It is far more expensive to respond after the fact than to prevent hardship in the first place.

 

And it's not just about economics. It's about who we are as a community. These programs reflect our shared values: that children should go to school warm, that no one should freeze in their home, and that help should be available when it's needed most.

 

That's why I'm urging our federal delegation — Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Congressman Richard Neal — to protect CSBG and LIHEAP from elimination or reduction. These are not fringe programs. They are foundational supports in rural regions like the Berkshires.

 

I'm also asking you, the reader, to take action. Call your legislators. Share your story. Donate or volunteer if you're able. These programs work because they are local, responsive, and rooted in community. Losing them would be a blow not only to the families who rely on them — but to the entire regional economy we all depend on.

 

When we lose safety nets like CSBG and LIHEAP, the most vulnerable fall first — and without intervention, we all fall further, and the cost of recovery is one we all share.