The frigid temperatures gripping Maine have underscored the difficulties some residents have in heating their homes.

Warm Thy Neighbor, a program of Tedford Housing, says it has received requests for fuel assistance from 107 households in the Mid-coast area. That’s 60 percent of the total for all of last season, when the agency served 173 households.

What worries advocates for the poor is that it is not quite halfway into the heating season, and this week’s cold snap will push up demand for heat at a time public assistance has been slashed.

Forecasters say high temperatures in the Mid-coast may stay in the single digits Farenheit through this weekend, with wind-chill values and nighttime readings well below zero.

“Today a son brought his 90-year-old mother in to help her apply” for heating aid, Susan Wygal, interim director of development for Tedford Housing, said in an email. “They were both so grateful that she does not have to face this next cold snap without enough heat.”

Wygal said donations to Warm Thy Neighbor have been strong, but that increased demand and the high cost of fuel have added pressure to the budget.

“This is alarming, as other sources of federal and state assistance have come in well below prior year levels,” putting greater demand on private sources, Wygal said.

In 2011, the federally funded Low Income Heating Assistance Program provided nearly 70,000 Maine households with aid, out of 155,000 eligible households in the state.

The $56.5 million sent to Maine that year was cut to $40 million in 2012. The allocation proposed by the Obama administration for this year is $31.2 million.

Wygal said nearly half of the people who seek services are homeowners, many of whom have never sought assistance before. Elderly people living alone, mothers with small children and disabled adults make up the majority of those receiving assistance.

Tedford Housing Executive Director Craig Phillips said “some folks have not had heat for several days before they call. Sometimes they have resorted to very unsafe means to try to keep warm, such as keeping the oven on and the door open or using space heaters which can overheat and start a fire.

“It is vital to help them get back to safe ways to heat their homes and families,” he said.

Every day, up to seven applicants for assistance meet with staff to share their stories, Phillips said, and to find out if Warm Thy Neighbor can help.

Warm Thy Neighbor serves residents in Brunswick, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Durham, Harpswell, Lisbon and Topsham.

To inquire about heating assistance, call Warm Thy Neighbor at 729-1161, ext.112.

TO GET HELP

To inquire about heating assistance, call Warm Thy Neighbor at 729-1161, ext. 112.

To make a donation, mail to Warm Thy Neighbor, Tedford Housing, P.O. Box 958, Brunswick 04011.

For information about the program, contact Craig Phillips at 729-1161, ext. 102; email [email protected]; or visit www.tedfordhousing.org.

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