Bangor Daily News - Home Heating Crisis in Maine Now 'Desperate'

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Bangor Daily News - Home Heating Crisis in Maine Now 'Desperate'

Reporter: Anne Ravana

Toys for Tots? How about Oil for Tots?

Many, if not most, of the state's neediest families are now in crisis when it comes to finding a way to pay for home heating oil, and assistance agencies are running so low on fuel funds that they are desperate for private donations.

That was the consensus at a fuel assistance resource meeting at U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' office Friday. Collins' office called the meeting to gather representatives from more than 10 social service agencies from area counties to determine how to use their existing resources most efficiently.
"A majority of people I see are in an emergency situation. They are out of oil when they call," said Harold Conners, director of social services for the Salvation Army office in Bangor.

Conners said he believes it is "a matter of weeks" before the state sees an overwhelming number of residents with empty oil tanks and no money to fill them. All the meeting attendees expressed concern that low-income families have little choice but to cut back on food, medicine and other essentials when their home energy costs rise.

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is the primary source of aid for families whose income is 150 percent to 170 percent of the federal poverty limit. This year, the program is expected to help about 47,000 Maine households with average annual incomes of $13,000, according to Joanne Choate, LIHEAP manager for the Maine State Housing Authority.

This year, applications are pouring in in record numbers, and at least 51,000 people are expected to apply, Choate said. The Penquis program in Bangor already has denied at least 600 applications.

"We're seeing more and more requests from the working poor, people who work more than 40 hours a week and still can't pay their bills," said Nathalie Perry, director of Brewer Health and Human Services.

On average, families receive $580 in assistance, which is not enough to fill a 250-gallon tank with local prices for oil hovering around $3.20 a gallon.
Collins is working hard in Washington, D.C., to secure additional emergency LIHEAP funding for her home state, she said in a videotaped statement played at the meeting. Collins, other members of Maine's congressional delegation and Gov. John Baldacci also met in Sen. Olympia Snowe's office on Wednesday to discuss possible actions that could be taken to address the issue.

The 2008 federal Appropriations Bill contains $2.4 billion for nationwide LIHEAP funding. Earlier this fall, Collins and Snowe secured the immediate release of $7.2 million in contingency LIHEAP funds for Maine, and both recently asked President Bush to release more contingency funds. Collins and Snowe also have asked the Senate Appropriations Committee for an additional $1 billion in emergency LIHEAP funding, and Collins said that request has "the support of many of my colleagues."

"Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to the problem of rising oil and gas prices. This will require a combination of short-term and long-term actions," Collins said.
The reasons for increased oil prices include increased world demand for crude oil, continued violence and instability in the Middle East that threatens to disrupt supplies, speculative trading of energy commodities on futures markets and the price-fixing actions of the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Collins said.

In addition to tight LIHEAP dollars, the agencies that process LIHEAP applications are short-staffed. At Penquis, LIHEAP application interviews are being scheduled for March, which has led to complaints from families needing immediate assistance.

Meeting attendees came up with two solutions that could remedy the application situation. Ideally, organizations other than community programs around the state should be able to process applications. A centralized computer database to store basic information about applicants also would be useful, they said.
Penquis and Waldo CAP officials said large numbers of people fail to show up for LIHEAP application interviews and then call to reschedule. This has contributed to the delay in the availability of appointments.

Families looking for assistance and awaiting response to their LIHEAP applications may turn to local general assistance programs, nonprofits, the United Way and the Citizens Energy Oil Heat Program at www.citizensenergy.com/english/pages/OilHeatProgram.

Anyone looking to donate money to aid low-income Maine residents with their heating bills should contact Operation Keep ME Warm by calling 645-4287 or visiting online: www.mainecommunityaction.org.

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