LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is offering fans and financial assistance to help low-income residents cope with the summer heat.

Children and Family Services Director Thomas Pristow says the department has joined forces with 43 local groups throughout the state to distribute fans. The local organizations decide who receives a fan.

Pristow says the state also administers a cooling program to help low-income residents and families pay their cooling bills. To qualify, residents must be at least 70 years old or be more susceptible to heat because of a medical condition that keeps them in their homes.

The fans were bought with money from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Nebraska’s health and human services department.