A reader who contacted the news portal VE.lt reported that several hundred people are standing in line near the building at Laukininkų Street 19A, where the municipality’s Social Benefits Department is located.
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According to the woman, seniors and disabled residents of Klaipėda have been lining up at the doors of this department since early morning, wanting to submit applications for housing heating compensation.
“Come and take photos, the line is huge, longer than in the Soviet era for food products. It consists almost entirely of elderly people, some in wheelchairs, others with canes and crutches. The live queue stretches all the way to the ‘Vyturys’ store, about 300 meters long,” the woman said.
She says that this system is bad and needs to be changed.
“The traffic is regulated by a security guard who tells people not to stand and wait because they won’t get tickets, as only one employee is working.
We came at the beginning of August but didn’t get tickets; they said they would only be distributed on August 17. So people came then.
This system needs to be changed.
They say you can register by phone, but no one answers the call, and only one window serves people in person. It’s a pity for the people. The number of such Klaipėda residents is only increasing and will continue to increase; maybe it’s time to regulate the system?” she complained.
The municipality stated in a comment to VE.lt that on August 17, when the long line was recorded, specialists at the Social Benefits Department on Laukininkų Street registered over 800 people by noon.
Regina Grabauskė, head of the municipality’s Social Benefits Department, says that on that day four employees worked with registration from 8 a.m., and from 9 a.m. another four employees joined.
R. Grabauskė says that Klaipėda residents could avoid standing in a live queue if they submitted applications for heating compensation electronically.
“As every year, individuals can submit applications for housing heating cost compensation electronically or in person. Electronically, through the Family Social Support Information System, applications can be submitted from September 1 and throughout the heating season without prior registration,” R. Grabauskė told VE.lt.
Meanwhile, city residents wishing to submit applications in person at the department should register in advance by phone or email.
“Prior registration is required for those who wish to submit applications in person when visiting the Social Benefits Department for the first time,” says R. Grabauskė.
She assures that even if employees do not answer the phone or the line is busy, the answering machine always informs that the person will be contacted and all individuals are called back the same day.
According to the official, the live queue forms because many want to submit their applications as early as possible. And the number of places available with specialists is limited.
At the municipality’s branch on Taikos Avenue, a total of six employees worked.
Information
Registration for submitting applications from August 17 is possible by calling Klaipėda municipality information at 0 46 41 08 40, or by email at paramacentras@klaipeda.lt, and by visiting the department (two branches operate, Taikos Ave. 52C and Laukininkų St. 19A).
When evaluating an application for heating compensation, the resident’s assets are taken into account; if this support is granted, it is for the entire season.
Last heating season, about 138,000 people across Lithuania received compensation, with about 59 million euros allocated.
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