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January 12, 2018
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Assistance programs see significant need
Fuel funds seeking donations
by Susan Esposito and Lora Whelan

 

     During these winter months, the cost of heating homes weighs heavily on the minds of many Maine residents. This is another year during which there is a significant demand for assistance.

LIHEAP, ECIP and THAW funds help people stay warm
     Downeast Community Partners, formerly Washington-Hancock Community Agency, administers the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP) and The Heating and Warmth Fund (THAT) to help people stay warm. Lee Hardison, the director of the Energy Services Department, has been helping people access fuel resources for 30 years and says that given the past two weeks of sub-zero weather she's concerned about people who may not realize that there are resources to help.
     The LIHEAP program has had 3,874 applicants in the 2017 fiscal year, of which 3,059 were eligible and received an average benefit of $770, up by about $50 from the last fiscal year. The ECIP fund has had 242 recipients so far with an average benefit of $270. Hardison still remembers the terribly cold fiscal year of 2014‑2015 when the average benefit was $550. "It was a lot. It's dropped the two subsequent years because it was warmer. Now we're back to the colder temperatures."
     Both LIHEAP and ECIP require an application process that takes 30 business days for processing. Hardison explains that they've been trying to make the process a bit simpler for the "extreme" rural nature of Washington County. "We're trying to make it user friendly." The application is done over the phone and is then mailed to the applicant for signatures of follow‑up documentation. Delays can occur when applicants forget to include the right paperwork. That's when the THAW fund can help.
     "While they might be waiting for ECIP they can resort to THAW," Hardison says. "It's donation based and doesn't have as many rules." The program is often most useful to people who were denied ECIP because they were just over the threshold, or they've never applied before. There are people who often "fall through the cracks," Hardison adds, who can use the program. The benefit is for the equivalent of 100 gallons of fuel and is awarded one time to an applicant per 12-month cycle. The fuel can be #2 fuel oil, propane, kerosene, wood pellets or firewood. "Anything that is a heat source," she explains. LIHEAP does the same. "We've had just about 300 people use THAW since the season started October 1." The average benefit is at $315, but she recently got a shock when she saw a kerosene per gallon price of $3.71.
     THAW donations so far have come in at $35,000. "We thankfully had some funds to start with that we were able to carry forward." She explains that there have been years when donations have come to $100,000. "It get used up," Hardison points out. Of the current THAW balance, she is somewhat concerned. "We're right on the line."
     Hardison encourages people who need help with heating to reach out by contacting the fuel assistance line at 259‑5015.

Eastport area fund needs donations
     The Community Emergency Fuel Fund in the Eastport area has given out assistance to 14 households this season, reports Lynn Rutledge, the new president of the Greater Eastport Ecumenical Churches Association (GEECA), which oversees the fund.
     "Fifty percent of the people we helped were in Eastport, and the other 50% were in surrounding towns," she says. "The amounts tend to be for $250."
     The fund was recently able to help a father with two young children who had spent all day clamming in the cold weather, but when the buyer's truck was late, his clams went bad and he couldn't get paid. A call to the Community Emergency Fuel Fund resulted in a swift response that had warmth in the home and food on the table.
     "We have had requests farther afield than we can really help, including a serious request from the Jonesboro area, but we can only give out what we take in."
     Tax-free donations may be sent to the Community Emergency Fuel Fund by using the new website, <eastportlaboroflove.org>, which has additional information for both local donors as well as guidelines for those who are looking for assistance.

Calais fund may run out
     The small heating assistance fund for Calais residents at the Irene Chadbourne Ecumenical Food Pantry has been used to assist 15 families this winter, says Sherry Sivret of St. Anne's Episcopal Church. "And these are all new families who have moved here."
     "We began getting requests in November, including a request from Baileyville, but we started the program in December," she reports. "We have been giving out 50 gallons of fuel for them," she says, but she notes the price of fuel has been going up, "so we're not expecting the current amount of money on hand to last until the end of January."
     Anyone wishing to send a financial donation to the fuel fund can send it to the Irene Chadbourne Ecumenical Food Pantry Fuel Fund, P.O. Box 1005, Calais, ME 04619 or call St. Anne's Episcopal Church at 454-8016.

Lubec fuel fund
     The Lubec Senior Fuel Fund is administered by the Town of Lubec and was created to help residents who are at least 60 years old, don't qualify for general assistance and have exhausted all assistance from other agencies such as LIHEAP. Debbie Hood, deputy clerk for the Town of Lubec, reports that only two people have applied for assistance this winter and both had fuel delivered to their homes.
     The program runs from September 1 through May 31, and people are not turned away if they need more than one delivery of oil during the cold months.

 

 

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