Lynn residents who are behind on an electric, gas, propane or heating oil bill, or facing a shutoff, can apply for a one-time payment of up to $1,000 from the Lynn Temporary Utility Assistance Fund at an in-person session on Tuesday, November 17 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development, 10 Church Street. The session was announced Friday by LHAND, which runs the fund with Mayor Jared C. Nicholson and the city, as an added application event. Applications are not taken online or by mail.
The fund is open to Lynn residents whose household income is at or below 60 percent of the area median income. By household size, the limits are $72,000 for one person, $82,320 for two, $92,580 for three, $102,840 for four, $111,120 for five and $119,340 for six. The payment goes toward the utility bill; it can be applied to electricity, natural gas, propane or oil.
What to bring
Applicants must bring paper copies of three things, and LHAND’s notice says so in capital letters: physical documents, not photos on a phone. The first is proof of Lynn residency. The second is income verification, which can be two recent pay stubs, a letter from an employer, a W-2 form, a 2025 tax return, a MassHealth card or a SNAP card. The third is the most recent utility bill or a proof of utility termination, meaning a shutoff or disconnection notice. Anyone who cannot attend the session may send a designated representative to apply in their place. Once an application is complete, LHAND says to allow 7 to 10 days for processing. Questions go to LHAND at 781-581-8600.
LHAND’s office at 10 Church Street is off Central Square, a short walk from the Lynn commuter rail station and the Central Square bus stops. The session runs two hours; the notice does not say whether applications will be taken in order of arrival or whether there is a cap on the number of households that can be helped, and we have not been able to confirm the total size of the fund.
Why the timing matters
The session comes as the heating season begins and as household energy bills rise with it. Oil and propane customers are in a different position from electric and gas customers: their fuel is delivered by dealers who are paid per delivery, so a past-due account can mean no delivery at all. A one-time grant that clears an arrears can be the difference between a full tank and an empty one, and the fund’s notice names propane and oil alongside electricity and gas as eligible uses.
The notice does not say whether the fund can be combined with the state’s fuel assistance program, which has its own application through regional agencies, or with the utilities’ discount rates, and it does not require applicants to have applied elsewhere first. The notice also does not say how much money is in the fund, how many households it can help or what happens to applications that arrive after the money is committed. Those are questions for LHAND at the number below.
A second city relief fund this year
This is the second emergency fund the mayor’s office and LHAND have opened in 2026. In May the city launched the Lynn Relief Fund with United Way of Massachusetts Bay, seeded with $50,000 in city discretionary money generated by film productions in Lynn and $20,000 from United Way. That fund is meant for households hit by an unforeseen emergency, such as displacement by a fire, a loss of income tied to immigration or fleeing domestic violence, and it takes referrals from local service providers rather than walk-in applications; the money can be used for food, housing, utilities “and more.” Nicholson described its goal at the time as “immediate assistance that will serve as a bridge over a crisis,” and LHAND chief executive Charlie Gaeta said the agency was “proud to partner with the City of Lynn and our longstanding United Way collaborators.”
The utility fund is narrower and simpler: one payment, one kind of bill, a walk-in session with documents. The wording of Friday’s notice, which calls November 17 an “additional application session,” indicates the fund has already held at least one earlier session; we were not able to find a public record of the earlier date or of how many households applied.
Other help in Lynn this month
LHAND’s own feed lists two more dates for households stretching a budget. Eliot Community Human Services and The Salem Pantry are running mobile food markets at 95 Pleasant Street in Lynn on Thursday, November 19 from 2 to 4 p.m., after an earlier one on November 5. The city’s Veterans Day observance is Wednesday, November 11, when city offices are closed.
Residents who miss the November 17 session should call LHAND to ask whether another will be scheduled. The number again is 781-581-8600, and the address is 10 Church Street, Lynn. The office is open on weekdays; the session itself is the only time the notice lists for taking applications, so a visit on another day should begin with a phone call.
