BY RANDY GRIFFITH
The harsh winter weather has taken its toll on area heating assistance programs.
Despite larger allocations available this winter for more low- and moderate- income families, local agencies say they are getting numerous requests for emergency help.
“We are pretty busy now,” caseworker Carl Schultz of charities said at the Cambria County fuel crisis task force meeting.
In October, Gov. Ed Rendell announced an additional $87 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds would allow the state to provide larger grants and expand income eligibility for those receiving help. Families could receive up to $1,100 this winter, up from $400 for last year.
It hasn’t been enough for some homes.
“We are getting calls from people who have used their LIHEAP money and the crisis money, and still need some fuel,” Dawn Karsaba of Catholic Charities said.
Although Catholic Charities and other social service agencies have some money available to get the families through the winter, Karsaba said the government and the agencies should help the homeowners reduce fuel consumption. She suggested requiring homeowners to enroll in the county weatherization program in order to receive LIHEAP. The government-funded home improvement initiative provides weather stripping, appliance upgrades and insulation.
“If you are burning through that much heat in two months, it’s going right out the windows and doors,” Karsaba said.
Advocates could remain active this summer to work on weatherization issues, said Ron Springer, county emergency management director and task force leader.
“All we are doing is putting a Band-Aid on an amputation,” Springer said.
Schultz suggested requiring home visits for LIHEAP recipients. Another agency reported they recently discovered that an elderly woman who was physically not able to close the windows had been living all winter with the windows open.
Somerset County agencies are facing the same onslaught of requests for help, Community Services Director Lisa Beam said from Community Action Partnership of Somerset County.
Like Cambria leaders, her agency is turning its attention to conservation assistance to reduce future heating needs.
“We stress the ‘turn down, seal and save’ initiative the governor announced,” Beam said.
