Coin drive begins for home-heat aid

Although it's only November, the high cost of home heating fuel is already causing a jump in the number of area residents having a hard time staying warm this winter.

''We are extremely concerned, based on the numbers of people asking for assistance that we are already seeing," said Jane Haines, executive director of East Bridgewater's Council on Aging, which forwards requests for assistance to the South Shore Community Action Council.

''We already have many more coming in that are in crisis mode this year," Haines said. ''And they only come in when they are really desperate. We have people whose heat is being shut off, and we have people who are out of oil and don't have money to fill their tanks," she said. ''The Kiwanis, the Lions and the Commercial Club are always supportive, but I don't that that will be enough this year."

To make up the difference, East Bridgewater is undertaking its own fund-raising effort to help those in need.

''Coins for the Community" came about when Haines turned for help to Selectwoman Theresa McNulty, the board's newest member and who is well known for her success at raising public awareness for good causes. She runs the Supply Sack program, which provides knapsacks and duffel bags filled with necessities to children who are being assigned to foster care. She also recently organized a local effort to help Hurricane Katrina victims from the Gulf Coast.

''This fund is for those with an immediate need, such as having a heating tank filled, stopping their electricity from being shut off, or if they have a prescription that needs filling," McNulty said. ''The civic organizations will be pitching in, but they need time to meet and approve the funding."

Haines and McNulty devised ''Coins for the Community" as a way to involve almost everyone in town in the effort. Collection jars have been placed in the Town Hall offices, the Council on Aging building, and in East Bridgewater Savings Bank. The schools will also participate in the drive, McNulty said, under the leadership of Superintendent Margaret Strojny.

The coin-collection campaign is to run through December, McNulty said, with dollar bills and larger donations by check also welcome. ''We'll take the big money too," she said.

The Coins campaign will supplement the assistance available from South Shore Community Action Council, a Plymouth-based organization that distributes fuel assistance to residents in 39 communities across Southeastern Massachusetts. It is expecting more families to need help paying for heat this winter, but the amount of money the organization will have to give out will be roughly the same as last year, said executive director Patricia Daly.

She said 45 percent of those needing fuel assistance last year were senior citizens.

In East Bridgewater, the Council on Aging will be in charge of identifying people who might need money from the Coins fund. It will work with other organizations, such as churches, that are often aware of local residents who could use some assistance.

''There are a lot of people who are very proud and don't want to ask for help," McNulty said.

Providers of natural gas or electricity by law cannot shut off service to a residence for unpaid bills between Nov. 15 and March 15, according to Daly, so the Coins fund will be used to help those who are less protected -- such as residents who heat with oil or propane.

''We have a lot of propane users in the trailer parks and the converted cottages. We're most concerned about delivered fuel, since gas and electricity will continue," she said.

Across the nation last winter, the average bill for heating with natural gas was $957, while oil heat cost $1,263, and propane $1,401, according to Lisa Spencer, the South Shore Community Action Council's energy director, and heating costs are expected to be 36 to 40 percent higher this year.

Spencer said more than 6,500 applications for fuel assistance have already been submitted, and virtually all of those are renewals from last year. She is predicting an increase of about 5 percent, once the cold weather begins.

Haines said the Council on Aging, in its mission statement, expresses its commitment to helping not just seniors and the disabled, but all community members in need.

''We all see national crises like the recent hurricanes because it's all over the TV," Haines said. ''But sometimes we forget it could be our neighbors that are struggling and we don't necessarily know it."

For information on the Coins for the Community drive, contact the selectmen's office at 508-378-1601 or the Council on Aging at 508-378-1610. Haines said anyone in need of fuel assistance should contact the council as well.

Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.