Beaufort County Department of Social Services is seeking the elderly and the disabled who are in need of financial assistance to help with utility bills.

DSS began accepting applications for its Low Income Energy Assistance Program Tuesday — a program offering one-time $200, $300 or $400 payments made directly to an applicant’s utilities vendor, based on the need of the applicant.

Through Dec. 31, applications will be taken from households with at least one household member 60 years old or older or a disabled person receiving services through the Division of Aging and Adult Services.

The elderly and the disabled are given priority sign-up in December because those people are considered the most vulnerable to a heating crisis, according to Amy Alligood, DSS income maintenance program administrator. In January, LIEAP application opens to anyone else in need, she said.

“We really want to focus first on the elderly and disabled,” Alligood said. “We really want to get them in here in the month of December. If we have money in January, that money goes really quickly.”

The program has been operating in various forms for many years, before settling on an application process and determination of need based on several factors, including how many people are in the home, whether any of those people are elderly or disabled, the household income, as well as the heat source — some heat sources, like kerosene, are more expensive than others, she said.

Funding comes from the federal government, through the state, which then allocates it to the counties based on population.

Last year, Beaufort County’s allotment was $318,557. This year, that number has dropped to $241,735.

“Obviously we will not be able to take as many applications this year as last year,” Alligood said.

In 2014, DSS took in 1,246 LIEAP applications, most of which were approved, she said. In the event of a heating emergency — for example, those facing utilities disconnection with freezing temperatures outside — the Crisis Intervention Program is also available to low-income residents.

“That program is designed to assist those families who are in a heating or cooling crisis, meaning it would pretty much be a life-threatening situation for someone to be without heat,” Alligood said. “It has to be a true crisis, like when they’re getting ready to lose that heat source.”

LIEAP applications can be found at the DSS office in Washington, 632 W. Fifth St., at the Aurora Community Center on Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Martha’s Project in Belhaven on Dec. 7 and Dec. 14, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.