A very real home energy crisis is looming for vulnerable low to moderate income households in Maine this coming winter if nothing changes in terms of funding for the anticipated assistance programs – most notably the Federal Home Energy Assistance Program known as HEAP.
To make community members aware, and call attention to the need for collaborative solutions before the cold weather hits, officials with the United Way of Aroostook, in partnership with Aroostook County Action Program, are convening regional Aroostook Home Energy Crisis Forums in The County. The sessions are intended to help inform area government and municipal officials, social service providers, and faith-based leaders who people often turn to in crisis looking for emergency fuel, on the dire situation projected for this winter. Interested community members are also welcome to attend.
“The combination of the anticipated reduction in the average HEAP benefit for households statewide, due in large part to increased demand on the program with larger numbers turning to ACAP and other Community Action Agencies statewide for help each year, coupled with the higher cost of living than before the pandemic when the benefit was significantly greater we are afraid will create the perfect storm this winter,’’ said Sarah Duncan, executive director of United Way of Aroostook. “We are fearful, if nothing else changes, that the outcome for people in our County this winter could be tragic.”
The three sessions are set for Houlton on Tuesday, September 10 at 10 a.m. in the Town Council Chamber at the town office at 21 Water Street, and at 2 p.m. at the ACAP Customer Service Center at 771 Main Street in Presque Isle (near Walmart). The final meeting will be held on Friday, September 13 at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber at the Fort Kent Municipal Building at 416 West Main Street in Fort Kent.
“The first of the HEAP customer anticipated benefit notice letters for the 2024-25 heating season have gone out and customers are calling us very worried and concerned with how much their assistance amount has been reduced just over the previous year, and understandably so,” said Jason Parent, executive director/CEO of ACAP. “When you look at the reduction in benefit for the supplemental program from the year prior to when the pandemic hit, the contrast is even more stark and sobering.”
Data compiled by ACAP shows the average household HEAP benefit in Aroostook County for the 2019-20 heating season, prior to the pandemic hitting in March of 2020, was $722, whereas the average anticipated benefit in the coming heating season is around $550. When comparing the average cost per gallon of heating oil in Maine in 2019-20 at $2.65 to what is expected to be an average of around $4.50 this season and the average cost of groceries for a family of four in Maine five years ago of $196 to the average today of $300, the challenge becomes even more clear say leaders with both UWA and ACAP.
United Way of Aroostook recently developed a new strategic plan that looks to address the three prevalent issues of home heating and food insecurity and the lack of childcare in northern Maine. The upcoming Aroostook Home Energy Crisis Forums are intended not only to call attention to the challenge, but hopefully begin a dialogue around collective solutions.
