Imagine yourself in the following predicament:

You’ve just lost your job and are having a hard time finding a new one. You have a family to keep warm, and the weather outside is, as the meteorologists like to keep saying, one of the coldest winters in recent memory. And, worst of all, when you go out to check the gauge on heating oil tank, you see it’s hovering around the quarter-filled mark.

Muttering to yourself as you trek through the snow back inside, you estimate the oil might last another two weeks, maybe three if the temperature moderates, or, miraculously, the furnace can run on fumes.

You then start crunching numbers, calling oil companies trying to get the best price. It’s then when it dawns on you that you’ll have to go into further credit-card debt to meet the basic need of staying warm through another Maine winter. (Your next thought is checking real estate prices and help-wanted ads in a much warmer place.)

Unfortunately for many living in a cold climate in this still-sagging economy, that hypothetical situation is their reality. And the lower-than-usual temperatures mean higher heating bills. Even those with a job are struggling to pay all of their bills, especially if they are responsible for a family. With temps breaking records in December, followed by more of the same in January, this winter is taking a serious bite out of our wallets. With oil, propane and kerosene prices sky-high, heating a home this winter takes a lot of money – money a lot of people don’t have.

Staying warm isn’t a luxury, however. It’s a physical need. That’s why even us hard-core Mainers shouldn’t let our pride get in the way if we need help filling the oil tank. There are the traditional sources of government aid, the main being LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Progaram), which this season totals $3.4 billion for distribution to needy families throughout the country. Applications for the money is double the average through mid-January, according to news reports.

But, in recent years, especially since the shock of 2008, when heating oil prices climbed to historic highs, privately operated fuel funds have sprouted across the area. Most follow the same rubric: People who somehow fall through the cracks of government subsidy programs such as LIHEAP can get a one-time oil delivery, usually up to 100 gallons at no cost to them. Generous fuel-fund donors, consisting of businesses and individuals, cover the tab.

There are many groups now providing this aid. In Windham, there’s Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Casco has Casco Cares. Buxton has Keep The Heat On. Bridgton has one operated by the Bridgton Community Center. Westbrook has a Good Samaritan fund with referrals from the General Assistance office in City Hall. Scarborough has a fund organized by Project GRACE. York County residents can look to Keep ME Warm, a program that provides emergency heating assistance through a statewide partnership of Maine’s United Ways and Community Action Agencies.

While it’s truly admirable private individuals and groups are rallying to form fuel funds to help their neighbors get through a rough financial patch, the funds only work if there’s money in them.

It’s easy to donate. While there are many different fuel funds in southern Maine, and we hesitate to list them all since we may miss one (fortunately, it’s a pretty long list), a quick call to the town clerk or General Assistance administrator can point donors in the right direction.

People in need – not just the unemployed, but those with jobs struggling to make ends meet – should call their town clerks for forwarding information, as well. And there are many programs available through the government, from furnace repair to oil tank replacement and help with electricity bills, not just heating oil.

While our taxes do go to pay that $3.4 billion spent to warm the less fortunate, the direct benefit of donating to a privately operated fuel fund – and knowing there’s a family in your hometown being helped because of those local efforts – helps warms one’s soul, as well. So, if you can spare the money, we urge you to donate.

–John Balentine, managing editor