Demand for heating fuel is high in Washington County as households contend with rising costs for their essentials. Applications for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are up more than 25%, while the average benefit is decreasing. Maine's LIHEAP fund received $37.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 2025 season, slightly down from last year.
      "It's very grave circumstances, especially for a lot of us Mainers and those in our Washington and Hancock communities," says Kelli Casey, director of energy services at Downeast Community Partners (DCP). DCP manages LIHEAP for both counties. So far this year, more than 2,000 applications have been approved, Casey says, although there are more submitted every day.
      "There have proven to be a lot of hardships for people this season," Casey says. "It's a trend that's going to be continuing."
      Casey says the amount of funding the program receives is not sufficient to address the level of need being seen. "We know there's a huge need. The benefit is not enough," she says, adding that the typical benefit received this year is enough for 100 gallons of fuel. "100 gallons of fuel is not going to last a whole winter."
      Part of the challenge is that LIHEAP is intended to be a supplemental benefit that can provide a bridge for clients to when they can afford fuel on their own, but the rising costs of fuel have made that less and less practical, particularly in cases of those on fixed income.
      "We still want to encourage people to reach out," Casey says. "We have options where we can provide assistance."
      New this year is the ability to apply for LIHEAP online. Prospective clients can go to www.downeastcommunitypartners.org/services/house and home and click on heating assistance to do so.
      LIHEAP is a first come, first serve program, Casey notes, and at this point appointments are being booked into March. "I always worry about people who apply late," Casey says, as "there's only so much money" and those who wait are less likely to receive funds.

Long wait stresses area funds
      Waiting for LIHEAP appointments has been a big driver for calls for assistance to The Connections Initiative (TCI) this season, says program manager Dante Zanoni. By contrast, people in 2023 were calling after their LIHEAP funds had run out. This year, calls have been coming from households whose "fuel supply was either running out or was about to run out prior to them even getting their appointment." When a call comes in to TCI, Zanoni references his list of resources to direct the caller to an organization that can provide assistance - though that list is getting shorter as resources dwindle.
      In Lubec, "funds are getting kind of low" already for the Senior Fuel Fund, reports Ruby Fry at the Lubec Town Office. The fund had more requests this past December than in previous years due to people's LIHEAP appointments being scheduled for late December or January, which affected the fund's reserves. "We will be operating until our funds are gone."
      Donations are being requested to help keep the fund going. They can be mailed to the Lubec Town Office, Attn: Senior Fuel Fund, 40 School Street, Lubec ME 04652. To qualify for the emergency fuel fund, clients must be 60 or older and living in Lubec with a quarter tank or less of fuel.
      In Eastport, Madeline Murphy of the Labor of Love has "had several calls from people this past year regarding the needs for fuel," she says, particularly from people who are 70 or older and on fixed incomes. "I get a call when things get critical. The caller is usually quite stressed and is at the point of desperation. My sense is that they are under pressure to juggle and balance every expense."
      While the Labor of Love doesn't maintain a fuel fund, it operates in close association with the Greater Eastport Ecumenical Churches Association (GEECA) fund, which can provide up to 100 gallons of fuel once other options are exhausted. To apply for help from GEECA, call Colin Windhorst at 726-9305. Those within Eastport can call City Clerk Ella Kowal at 853-2300.
      At St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, which began operating a county wide emergency assistance fund in 2023 with the assistance of Catholic Charities of Maine, organizers have seen increases across all types of need, most significantly with home heating requests. The home heating program opens annually in December and can run only until those funds are exhausted. For more information, visit sktparish.org/outreach or call 454-0680 with any questions or to make a donation.
      The St. Croix Area Calais Rotary Club, meanwhile, is not currently operating its emergency heating fuel assistance program, and it will remain on hold until fundraisers can replenish it.