GREENFIELD — After Gov. Maura Healey declared a “state of energy emergency” in Massachusetts on Monday, Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Juana Matias visited Community Action Pioneer Valley to discuss next steps and how the state can work with local organizations that are assisting with the demand for heating assistance.
The executive order signed by Healey increases eligibility for the Home Energy Assistance Program so that families of four earning up to $103,049 could get assistance of $870 to $1,450 for oil or propane this winter, or $600 to $1,000 for gas or electric heat. Under a new heating assistance benefit, families of four making up to $171,749 could get up to $680 off their bill this winter. The new home heating oil assistance benefit for households earning between 60% and 100% of state median income extends assistance to middle-class families that have traditionally fallen outside eligibility for existing programs.
As the state is approaching the start of home heating season, Matias said forms are already available for people to fill out at mass.gov/heatinghelp. When the applications officially open, Matias said those who fill out the form will already have their information in the system, meaning the state would be able to provide assistance sooner.
Community Action Pioneer Valley Executive Director Lev BenEzra, at right, talks with Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias, at left, in the nonprofit’s Greenfield office on Tuesday. Credit: JOHNNY DEPIN / Staff Photo 
From left, state Rep. Susannah Whipps, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias, and Community Action Pioneer Valley Executive Director Lev BenEzra meet at the nonprofit’s Greenfield offices on Tuesday. Credit: JOHNNY DEPIN / Staff Photo 
From left, state Rep. Susannah Whipps, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias, and Community Action Pioneer Valley Executive Director Lev BenEzra meet at the nonprofit’s Greenfield offices on Tuesday. Credit: JOHNNY DEPIN / Staff Photo
The secretary, while visiting Community Action on Tuesday, added that thousands of individuals from 311 municipalities across Massachusetts have already filled out the form.
“We want to encourage people to fill that out today,” Matias said. “We are thinking about what tools we can add. … If you do not know if you are eligible, please just apply.”
According to the governor’s office, the state expects around 50,000 middle-class households to now qualify for home heating assistance under the expanded eligibility guidelines. The administration will also provide an extra $15 million to increase winter heating assistance for about 156,000 low-income households across Massachusetts.
“Right now, in kitchens across Franklin and Hampshire counties, a familiar math starts up,” said Lev BenEzra, executive director of Community Action Pioneer Valley. “A winter coat or a prescription, medicine or food, food or heating the house. This is a dilemma so unfortunately common, that it has a name: Heat or eat. Nobody should have to choose. … Today, Community Action Pioneer Valley keeps 25,000 of our neighbors fed, warm, supported and connected.”
The nonprofit is expecting more people to apply for home heating assistance due to the new benefits that are available to middle-class families. Last year, 9,000 families and households were assisted by Community Action Pioneer Valley. This year, with the new guidelines, more people than ever are expected to apply for help, according to Josette Bartley, fuel assistance program director.
BenEzra added that western Massachusetts as a whole is anticipating record need this year due to rising oil prices, and the disproportionate use of oil as a home heating method compared to the rest of the state.
While all methods of heating homes are expected to jump in price (with electricity anticipated to rise in cost by 9%), the price of oil jumped exponentially from one year to the next. Around this time last year, home heating oil was around $3.58 per gallon, while now it is just about $6.10 per gallon, which is a 70.4% increase.
Bartley said residents of Franklin and Hampshire counties have a variety of ways to request home heating assistance through Community Action, including through a phone call, an online application, in person at a Community Action office or by submitting a paper application. Community Action is automatically mailing paper applications to those who have been part of the Home Energy Assistance Program for the past two years.
With BenEzra saying the organization wants to make applying for heating assistance as smooth a process as possible, Bartley shared that the heating/fuel companies will bill Community Action directly, and that while the benefits may be lower, people can still apply for assistance even if utilities are included in their rent.
BenEzra said that an effect of this increased assistance could be that more residents are involved in the community.
“I often say, that when our neighbors are living in poverty, we as communities, we don’t even know what we’re missing out on,” BenEzra said. “Who isn’t running for city council, or organizing a community garden, or finishing their degree because they … are … surviving? When basic needs are met, something opens up.”
To apply for home heating assistance or to find out if you’re eligible, visit toapply.org/CA.
