GREENFIELD — A fuel assistance program that mainly helps the poor and elderly, servicing about 3,300 households in Franklin County, is slated to be cut in President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget.
Locally, the program, which helps low-income households pay for heat in the winter, is primarily housed with local service provider Community Action. The group worries that if the Low Income-Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is cut, it could have potentially dire consequences.
Energy Director of Community Action Peter Wingate points to a recent story in The Recorder about the disproportionate amount of structure fires in Franklin County that are caused by heating. Often, fires happen because of wood stoves. Wingate says that if people do not have fuel assistance, they may rely on wood stoves as a primary source of heating.
“I think there’s going to be a lot more house fires, community fires, things of that nature,” if the fuel-assistance program is cut, Wingate said.
The program provides assistance for households that make up to 60 percent of the state median income. Community Action provides services to about 7,500 households between its two service areas of Franklin and Hampshire counties. About half of those households have at least one elderly person, Wingate said.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and other regional legislators are working to hold on to the program. McGovern and representatives from Vermont and New York sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to express bipartisan support for the program, with the support of 164 legislators.
Around 200,000 households are serviced by the fuel assistance program statewide. Unlike in the Boston area, Wingate said that in western Massachusetts, the stakes are higher when someone cannot afford to heat their home in the winter. Often, oil has to be delivered to households, with no easy-access to natural gas as in urban areas.
“A lot more people out here … are reliant on oil heat and delivered fuels, where if you don’t have money, then you can’t get it,” Wingate said.
About 20 percent of the households change from year-to-year, and Wingate said these may include a population of people who are recovering from substance abuse.
The program also covers heating repairs if there is a breakdown.
Although Wingate does not think that this program, in part with the help of state legislators, will be cut, he says from the past year’s national politics, he’s not predicting anything anymore.
“Each time I’ve been wrong, so this time I’m trying to not make any assumptions,” Wingate said. “So we are trying to reach out to people so that they can advocate for these services.”
You can reach
Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264