Demand high for heating aid State to distribute federal assistance

By Brenda J. Buote, Globe Staff. This story ran on page 1 of the Globe North section on 1/30/2003.

These days, Albert Wheaton passes the hours sitting by the kitchen stove, trying to keep warm. His Revere home's boiler, an ancient contraption that was installed some 80 years ago, broke down last November. It couldn't be fixed, and cost too much to replace.

''Last winter, it wasn't so bad. The weather was so mild,'' said Wheaton, 51, who is unemployed and recovering from throat cancer. ''This year, though, it's a different story. When I applied for disability benefits two months ago, I mentioned my broken boiler and I was told to call the fuel assistance program. If it weren't for them, I don't know what I would do.''

This week, workers are expected to replace the asbestos-covered boiler in his single-family home with a new one, at a cost of $4,614. The federal government is picking up most of the tab, $3,469, through a heating assistance program that is administered by Community Action Programs Intercity in Chelsea. A nonprofit group, Centro Latino de Chelsea, is paying the rest of the bill, which amounts to $1,145, with funds the agency received from the United Way.

''Through these fuel assistance programs, we're trying to make a difference, and not just in the heating bill. We're also trying to provide a societal benefit, to conserve resources so they'll be something left for our grandchildren,'' said Marilyn Murphy, who oversees the Community Action heating assistance program as well as a similar initiative at Tri-City Community Action Inc., an antipoverty agency that serves Malden, Everett, and Medford.

From Revere to Amesbury, thousands of families, almost half of them with children younger than 18, rely on federal dollars to cope with the cold. The monies flow to local programs, such as the ones administered by Murphy, through the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

Earlier this week, state officials were trying to decide how best to distribute the $12.3 million in emergency federal funds that President Bush allocated to Massachusetts last week when he released another $200 million in emergency heating aid after intense lobbying by Northeastern lawmakers.

''It's an unanswered question right now,'' said Phil Hailer, spokesman for the state Department of Housing and Community Development. ''We're trying to determine that as we speak. There's a number of factors that come into play here. For example, oil companies are not obligated to deliver oil to your home if you're delinquent, even though, by law, gas and electric companies can't shut off service for nonpayment until March 15. So, should we look at people who use oil to heat their homes as a special condition? We haven't decided that yet.''

As local program directors wait for answers, they continue to field a record number of desperate calls for help. Plummeting temperatures and escalating oil prices have made Wheaton's predicament all too familiar, according to advocates for the poor. Many families are huddling around their kitchen stoves and sleeping in winter coats to keep warm. And many of those who are least able to endure the cold, particularly the elderly and disabled, are going without food or prescription medications to keep the heat on.

''Energy prices are up 30 percent from last year, temperatures are down 30 percent, and the benefit level is down 20 percent,'' said Darlene Gallant, director of community services for Lynn Economic Opportunity Inc., a nonprofit group that helps low-income families. ''We get at least 10 phone calls a day from people who have used up their benefits, and have no oil. People are being forced to make horrible decisions. They're keeping their heat at dangerously low levels, or deciding between heat and food.''

This year, those who use oil to heat their homes have been hardest hit, advocates said. Many have already used up their yearly fuel assistance allotment. Depending on income, households can receive up to $545 this year. The income limit to qualify for assistance is $36,200 for a family of four.

''The problem is not that we're out of money, it's that we can't give more money to individuals who have already burned up their allotments,'' said Elliott Jacobson, director of the Action Inc. Energy Program in Gloucester. ''We're pushing state officials to increase the benefit level to at least what it will take to pay for another 100 gallons of fuel. In the meantime, we're trying to help those who have used up their allotments by going to charities and foundations. But everybody is hurting. Charities are hurting. Foundations are hurting. As the stock market continues to go down, as the economy continues to suffer, there's less money available.''

The full impact of the deep freeze is still to come, after gas and electric meters are read in February and customers who receive huge bills also apply for aid.

The federal money that is available will help some 131,000 low-income households statewide. Some, like Wheaton, will receive new heating systems. Others will get much-needed insulation and other weatherproofing equipment to make their homes more energy efficient. But most cash-strapped families will simply receive utility discounts and emergency heating aid, money that is paid directly to fuel providers to offset high heating bills.

Most low-income families receive about $300 from the federal government for the winter, an amount that advocates said is woefully inadequate given the rising cost of fuel and the unrelenting cold.

The average price of a gallon of oil is $1.44, according to the state's Division of Energy Resources, a significant increase over the average price of $1.12 a gallon last winter, which was considerably milder. John Condon, heating program director for Community Action Inc. in Haverhill, which negotiates discounted oil prices for 780 low-income households in 11 local communities, said many homes could burn more than 800 gallons of oil in a winter this cold.

''If it cost someone $600 to heat their home last year, they can expect to spend at least $900 this year, and for many families, that's an increase they can't afford,'' said Condon. ''We've had a number of people come in for help who got laid off recently. Usually, they qualify for assistance, but they have to wait four weeks before we can help them.''