From the Director
“No Heat, No Eat” crisis looms...
By Robert P. Dean
Although it is still summer and temperatures are in the 80's and 90's, it is time to begin to prepare for the “no heat, no eat” scenario many seniors will face this winter. The high costs of gasoline and heating fuel are combining to create a looming crisis. Unlike in years past, oil companies are refusing to let their customers “lock in” at lower rates and prepay for this winter’s heating oil, which means that seniors and others will be forced to purchase their heating oil at much higher winter rates. The typical retiree on Social Security receives about $1,100 dollars a month, the same amount it would cost to fill a 275 gallon oil tank at $4.00 a gallon. The huge jump in oil prices will create extreme financial hardship for many, who will find it difficult to heat their homes and pay for other basic necessities such as food.
Elder Services, as a member of Mass Home Care, sent a letter to the Governor this past month in regards to the growing financial strain that energy — and food - costs are placing on many seniors. The Mass Home Care letter states in part that:
“Unprecedented spiraling of gasoline and heating oil have created a financial crisis for many households across our state. There is no immediate easing of this crisis, and we are growing increasingly alarmed that many of our elders and families will no longer be facing a “heat or eat” dilemma - but a “no heat and no eat” reality.
Inflated gas prices have had an impact on programs as varied as meals on wheels to fuel assistance. The cost of a homemaker or a care manager to travel to her client, the cost of a meals driver to complete his route, the cost of an oil tank fill up — elders on fixed incomes are now in deep trouble, and will be way over their heads by the Fall, when the cost of heating a home will be untouchable. Oil companies don’t take clients on credit. Renters who pay their own utilities will go without heat. Landlords who pay for heat will (increase) their rents as soon as the lease allows.
We are asking that you convene a summit on the impact of energy prices on Massachusetts consumers, especially the poor, to begin to push for state and federal responses to this clear and present danger....We need to address the financial relief options available to us: increased outreach for food stamps; increased allotments of food stamps; higher thresholds of LIHEAP energy assistance, and higher income and asset eligibility for fuel assistance. This must be put into gear now—not in the Fall... We are prepared to work with you to seek solutions for protecting our vulnerable citizens from these price shocks, and the prospect of an empty oil tank and an empty refrigerator.”
If you are one of the many who will be placed in economic distress by rising heating costs, you may want to consider food stamps, which are easier to apply for than ever before. The application for seniors age 60 and over has been simplified, and there is no longer any asset test for most food stamp applicants, including seniors and individuals with disabilities. The Food Stamp Program utilizes a card similar to credit or bank debit cards, which means that no one around you, other than the cashier, can tell that you are paying through the Food Stamp Program. If you would like to know more about the Food Stamp Program or other ways to help supplement your food budget, please give us a call.
With regard to the rising cost of heating fuel, we are pleased that the Governor has proposed the creation of a new $20 million Energy Assistance Trust Fund “for the purpose of assisting low-income elders, working families and other households with the purchase of heating oil, propane and natural gas, electricity, and other primary or secondary heating sources”. This is a good start, but more needs to be done. Stay tuned...
Robert P. Dean is Executive Director of Elder Services.
