The long lines of people at the Southeastern Arizona Community Action Program on the first Monday of the month are coming to an end. SEACAP will switch to a telephone appointment system on Nov. 30 to aid people who need help paying rent and utilities.

Residents in Nogales, Rico and Tubac who want assistance must call (520) 287-5066 at 8 a.m. on the last working day of the month to get an appointment for the first working day of the next month. SEACAP staff will tell the applicant what to bring �“ income verification, ID or other documents �“ to the appointment, according to a SEACAP news release.

This month, the call-in day is Monday, Nov. 30, and Dec. 1 and 2 will be the appointment days. Households in Patagonia and Sonoita must call the SEACAP office in Nogales on the day before the second working Thursday of the month for an appointment. Staff will see applicants at the Patagonia Senior Center on the second Thursday.

“The state (Department of Economic Security) mandated the change,” said Regional Coordinator Cecilia Brown.

She hopes the new policy will discourage applicants from camping in their cars on Chenoweth Street near the SEACAP office to get a spot in line on Monday morning.

But there will be fewer appointments than before, Brown predicted. DES has designated a new vulnerable population who can walk in any day the office is open and get assistance. To qualify, a household must include an elder, age 60 or older, or a child age 2 or younger and have a utility shut-off or eviction notice.

“There is money that is now earmarked when they come in here,” Brown said. I can’t switch money in the pots (to help people with appointments).”

But there’s a downside to the new system, Brown said. “If the first 10 people who come in use up all the money, I deny the next 30 people.”

She gave an example of what could happen: On the appointment day, if an applicant says he owes three month’s rent, but didn’t bring all the required paperwork, Brown will earmark the money for him, she said. If he doesn’t come back in two days, that money will carry over to the SEACAP allotment for the next month.

Forty to 70 households per month apply each month for help with utilities or rent or both, Brown said. But only 20 to 30 receive assistance.

The reasons? Sometimes they lack the proper documents or ID, Brown said. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident and bring a birth certificate, passport, naturalization certificate or resident alien card.

Often, SEACAP runs out of funds before all applicants are seen, Brown said. She and her staff don’t find out how much money is allocated for that month until the day before, she said.

“I feel for the families who camped out there, but we assisted more families (before),” Brown said.