Scarborough resident Phyllis Huckins knows she will be warmer and save money on energy and heating bills this winter thanks to the help of three area volunteers and a statewide initiative to help the most vulnerable residents of the state weatherize their homes.

While people are bracing for the cold of winter by doing what they can around their homes to save money and stay warm by plastic-wrapping windows, insulating pipes and plugging drafts, some Mainers – those over 60 years old or families with children younger than 2 years – qualify for assistance in weatherizing their homes through “Operation Keep ME Warm.”

The program was first launched in 2004 when heating costs were 35 percent higher than the previous year, according to comments made by Gov. John Baldacci when he launched this year’s initiative in September: “Today prices are 60 percent higher than last year at this time.”

Volunteers across the state were supplied by the state with weatherization kits that included energy efficient light bulbs, insulation for pipes and electrical outlets, caulk for drafty windows and a wool blanket. The $60 weatherization kits are estimated to save homeowners $200 in heating and electrical bills over the winter.

During a four-day period between Oct. 28 and 31, 449 volunteer teams visited 1,600 homes statewide. But, that won’t be enough this winter; the need is so great the state plans to weatherize an additional 1,400 homes before Nov. 7.

Huckins’s home was one of 130 in Cumberland County visited by volunteers. Huckins, 71, was one of many residents who signed up for the weatherization program while she was signing up for fuel assistance through the People’s Regional Opportunity Program, an organization she said has been extremely helpful.

Huckins wouldn’t say how much money she saves through PROP’s fuel assistance program, but “it’s a big, big saving,” she said. “Without them I don’t know how I’d get through the winter.”

She has lived in the Pine Crest mobile-home park on the Scarborough-South Portland border for 32 years. She has a South Portland address, but pays taxes in Scarborough, has a Scarborough telephone number and sent her children through Scarborough schools.

She retired about a year ago after being a cook at Tony Roma’s in South Portland. Huckins said she initially had to leave her job because she became sick, but by the time she had recovered and was ready to return to work the restaurant had closed. Now, she lives alone and relies on her Social Security check to get by.

On Saturday a team of three volunteers, friends who work together as employees of the city of South Portland, visited her home with their own tools and the state-issued weatherization kit. Huckins had already wrapped her windows with plastic to save on her energy bill, so Mary Morrissey, Brenda Worcester and Tom Carrellas switched out her light bulbs, insulated her water pipes and electrical outlets and caulked the gap between a skylight and the roof.

“They did a good job,” Huckins said.

Right off the bat, however, it was obvious to the three volunteers that Huckins needed more than just the weather stripping and pipe insulators they could provide her.

“This is really just a band-aid,” Carrellas said as he caulked the large gap between her skylight in the bathroom and the outside roof, which was leaking water and cold air into the house and letting out valuable heat.

The roof is old, mildewed and needs to be replaced. A large, drafty gap between her front door and the frame allows a cool stream of air into her living room. Unfortunately, the problems were larger than anything the volunteers were prepared to handle.

“That’s the hard part,” Morrissey said. “We see that and there’s nothing we can do.”

Huckins said the quoted price of $2,000 to repair her roof is just too much to afford on her fixed income. She tried to apply through PROP for help with the costs, but gave up because she said the process was too complicated.

“My mobile home is getting older and needs a lot of repairs I can’t afford,” Huckins said. “I’ll take the snowstorms and get through to the spring, then I’ll figure out what I’m going to do.”

While local community agencies such as PROP signed up the qualified homeowners, it was the American Red Cross that organized the volunteer teams. Suzanne McCormick, CEO of American Red Cross of Southern Maine, said her organization would be collaborating with PROP to look at any “red flags” – homes and homeowners who are in need of further support – the teams identified while they were in the field. Those homeowners may qualify for additional building programs, fuel assistance or further weatherization, McCormick said.

This winter, Huckins was grateful for the assistance she received. “Just getting the materials,” she said, “that stuff costs a lot of money.”

Worcester said Operation Keep ME Warm is a great idea, “especially this winter.” She didn’t know what to expect, but she said it was a “feel good” thing and was fun.

The work volunteers were expected to do was relatively basic; no prior experience weatherizing homes was necessary. But, before visiting homes volunteers were shown a how-to videotape on some of the things they would be asked to do, such as insulating electrical outlets, caulking windows and switching inefficient light bulbs with energy efficient ones.

Because of that tape Worcester said there are things she was going to do in her own home to save on her energy bill.

When Morrissey, Worcester and Carrellas left Huckins’s home, they apologized for not being able to do more. Huckins gave hugs all around and thanked them. “You’ve done all you can,” she said. Before leaving, Worcester, who works in the South Portland tax assessor’s office, made sure Huckins was aware of other cost-saving programs, such as the property tax and rent refund program – “an underutilized program,” Worcester said – and the homestead exemption, both of which Huckins did already know about.

The weather has been warmer and there hasn’t been any rain since the three visited Huckins’s home so she hasn’t been able to notice a difference from the weatherization measures they performed, but “I’m sure it will help a lot,” she said.

Five members of Scarborough High School’s Key Club also participated in Operation Keep ME Warm last weekend. Lead by Sylvia Most, a member of the Kiwanis Club, the students visited three homes in York County to assist the homeowners with insulating their homes for the winter.

The day began at 7:45 a.m. Sunday when the team met at the high school. Then they traveled to the Sanford Armory for instruction on their duties and some training.

The students spent the rest of the day working on winterizing the three homes assigned to them. One homeowner was not home when the team arrived and they left the material on the doorstep. But they were successful in winterizing the other two homes, Most said.

For the students the day provided with an excellent opportunity to perform an important community service for people who need some help.

“It was a real volunteer experience,” said sophomore Saerim Park, adding that while it was hard work the day was very rewarding.

Park’s job was to help put plastic over the windows of houses. While she had not done that before she quickly learned how to do it efficiently.

Freshman Chris Twomey’s job during the project was sealing cracks in homes with caulk.

“It was really great; it was one of the best volunteer projects you can do,” he said.

The students said one of the most rewarding aspects of the day was getting to meet the homeowners and seeing their reaction once the team was done winterizing their homes.

“They were very grateful for our help,” said sophomore Tracy Najarian. “Just being there, talking to them, putting smiles and their faces and ours too, it was a great time.”

Other students who participated in the project for the Key Club were Jarrett Sprague and Dave O’Frost.

Brenda Worcester, a volunteer with the Keep ME Warm program, caulks a gap between Phyllis Huckins’s skylight and roof as a weatherization measure designed to save on heating costs over the winter. Operation Keep ME Warm weatherized 1,600 homes of the most vulnerable residents statewide in a four day period beginning Oct. 28. The need is so great for the service the state plans to weatherize an additional 1,400 homes by Nov. 7.Mary Morrisey, a volunteer with the Keep ME Warm program, insulates pipes under Scarborough resident Phyllis Huckins’s kitchen sink as part of Operation Keep ME Warm, a statewide initiative designed to assist the state’s most vulnerable residents prepare their homes for the winter.