Heat assistance faces shortage

By LAUREN HOUGH / Journal Staff Writer

                               DHHR Information and Referral Specialist Ada

                               Palmer prepares a reserve food pantry used for

                               those who may need food in emergency situations.

                               (Journal photo by Jason Turner)

MARTINSBURG — Declining temperatures quickly increased the need for community heating assistance programs this week.

As what had been a mild winter gave way to a brisk cold spell, followed by snow, resources designed to help lower-income individuals stay warm were quickly tapped.

Now those offering additional aid wonder how long this true winter will last in the Eastern Panhandle — and whether or not they have sufficient resources to help people last through it.

To date, $2,700 of the Warming Hands and Hearts fund — a program designed to supplement state-offered heating assistance programs — has been used to keep the heat on for 31 families, with a total of 28 children.

That means only about $5,700, which includes a $3,000 grant from the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, is left in the fund to last until spring.

“I’m a little nervous if we’re going to be able to make it through the rest of winter,” said Jan Callen, executive director of the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle.

Those who need assistance with their heating costs are first directed toward state-run Low Energy Assistance Programs (LEAP). If that assistance is not enough, or if a family makes enough money to where they don’t qualify for the programs but still need help, case managers will step in. Those individuals or families found to be prioritizing their money, but still lacking sufficient funds to manage their heating costs, become designated as Warming Hands and Hearts families.

Volunteers then try to match those in need to community-sponsored programs offering assistance. If there is still a shortfall after all resources have been used, then money is pulled from the Warming Hands and Hearts funds, Callen explained.

While the community and its various clubs, organizations and other groups were “very generous” to the effort, additional donors are always needed.

“We like to always keep dollars in it,” he said.

The program allows for 100 percent of donations to go right back into the community, Callen said — no administrative costs are withdrawn from the Warming Hands and Hearts fund, and the extra money carries over from year to year. During last year, the first year for the effort, a $30,000 grant from Telamon was offered to fund the program, Callen said.

About $29,000 was used to help those in the community, namely because winter arrived so early, forcing organizers to spend a third of the fund in December 2005.

“The number of people requiring our assistance is not running as high as last year,” Callen said.

Though the 2007 season began with a total of just $9,000 in the fund, Callen said he was shocked to find that there wasn’t such a pressing need for the help as there was in 2006.

Between February and March of last year, a total of more than $9,000 was needed for local families and individuals, meaning the fund could fall as much as $3,400 short if winter tracks the same way it did last year, Callen said.

The potential shortfall is something Ada Palmer, program manager for Warming Hearts and Hands, finds very sad.

State LEAP programs are expected to close to recipients on Friday, she said.

“When that happens is when Warming Hands and Hearts last year was able to come and do a lot of good for people,” she said. “This year, we aren’t able to do that.”

Palmer, who also works for the Berkeley County Department of Health and Human Resources, said the dynamics of the various situations that cause many local people to be in need of heating assistance are great.

Whether recipients are elderly and on fixed incomes, facing unexpected expenses, or single mothers with families, situations that face many are hard to deal with.

Even harder are the situations of those who are never seen by many members of the community — the homeless camped out around a fire or tenants with broken pipes and no money to fix them.

Giving any sum of extra money to the United Way as a donation to the Warming Hands and Hearts fund is a “wonderful thing,” Palmer said.

At the DHHR, blankets, coats, gloves, hats and food are always needed. Donations to food banks can also help replenish shelves that have been empty since the holiday season, she said.

Potential donors may call the DHHR at 262-0048, or the United Way at (304) 263-0603. More information on Warming Hands and Hearts is also available on the agency’s Web site, www.uwayep.org, along with a link for making donations online.

“We could really use any extra dollars they have,” Callen said. “We’ll put it in the fund and keep it there. It will always be used to keep the heat on.”

— Staff writer Lauren Hough can be reached at (304) 263-8931, or at lhough@journal-news.net