CHN Housing Partners Will No Longer Administer HEAP and PIPP Programs

For Immediate Release  

Contacts:  

Laura Boustani / lboustani@chnhousingpartners.org / (216) 789-3626  

Clare Snape / csnape@chnhousingpartners.org / (216) 392-4409  

CHN Housing Partners Will No Longer Administer HEAP and PIPP Programs 

Cleveland, October 17, 2025 – Kevin Nowak, president and CEO of CHN Housing Partners (CHN), released the following statement today:  

“As one of two providers since 2002, CHN has served thousands of Cuyahoga County residents through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). We are incredibly proud of the great work our team has done.  

Through our team’s dedication and hard work, we exceeded goals time and time again. CHN’s team repeatedly answered the call to go above and beyond what our state contract called for in order to meet the growing need for HEAP in our community.   

As is consistent in most other Ohio counties, the State has decided to transition to a sole countywide provider. Most commonly, that provider is the county’s community action agency. Moving forward, Step Forward, our county’s community action agency, will become the only provider of HEAP in Cuyahoga County. We wish Step Forward the best as they work to absorb the thousands of customers that CHN has served annually, and we have offered our support in that transition.   

We are incredibly grateful to our partners and our dedicated HEAP team for their service to our community through these programs for the last 24 years. 

CHN will now be more wholly focused on its core services of affordable housing development, residential lending, family financial success and support, and home repair and rehab as we continue to grow our housing stability and homeownership impact.” 

What does this mean for Cuyahoga County’s HEAP and PIPP clients?  

CHN will no longer administer the HEAP or PIPP programs. Step Forward is now the sole provider in Cuyahoga County.