Rollout of this year’s fuel assistance season hampered by shutdown
Valley Opportunity Council, the nonprofit that provides assistance purchasing heating fuel in Hampden County, has a plan should the shutdown of the federal government stretch beyond Nov. 1.
That's the date when it has, in the past, begun to help eligible residents with their costs to purchase fuel during the winter months. With that date only days away, Stephen Huntley, executive director for the council, said the state has about $10 million on hand to help with fuel assistance across the commonwealth.
As long as the shutdown lasts, that's money intended for the most dire of situations.
"There's only money for emergencies," Huntley said. "So what has to happen this year is people will call us and say, 'I'm out of oil, or … I'm out of propane.' And so then we then would have to call ABC Oil directly and say, 'please provide a minimal delivery.'"
The shutdown has come as colder weather descends upon the Northeast and heating assistance programs began to ramp up for the season. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been the largest source of the funds for fuel assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration terminated the federal employees in the department's Division of Energy Assistance, which worked on the program. The administration also proposed cutting LIHEAP completely from the federal government, but Congress approved $4 billion for the program, according to The Guardian .
While federal employees who supported the program were deemed essential employees in past shutdowns, the federal government will not release grant funding or allow staff to work on the program, according to the American Public Power Association , a group that represents public power companies.
One of the most immediate shutdown impacts to Springfield residents was a portion of the LIHEAP program that provides funds for some residents to repair — or replace if needed — their heating systems.
Since Oct. 1, about 30 to 50 residents called the city of Springfield seeking help with a broken heating system, said Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development officer for Housing, Community Development and Neighborhoods. Last year, the city helped 400 residents with about $859,000 through the Heating Emergency Assistance Retrofit Task Weatherization Assistance Program.
This year, the city has been telling residents that it is keeping a list and when the funding from the federal government becomes, the city will "move forward as quickly as possible." Sullivan said. It's a situation that has placed a burden on families and seniors in the city, she said.
"I can't stress enough how much we're urging our partners at the federal level to try and come to a resolution here to help these folks out," Sullivan said.
Valley Opportunity Council has been processing applications from residents seeking fuel assistance, but with a reduced staff, Huntley said. Typically, about 40 people would work to process thousands of applications, sending out letters around the first of November to resident and propane and oil companies alike, scheduling deliveries soon after.
Over the last few weeks, the council has about a dozen people working on fuel assistance applications, operating only two locations.
"We have five others that we will open once we're fully funded," Huntley said. "We're doing everything we can to keep going as long as the shutdown happens."
Last year, the council provided fuel assistance to 24,000 households in Hampden County, receiving about $21 million from the federal government for the season.
Jessica Thompson, director of community engagement for Community Action Pioneer Valley, said her organization received about $9 million last year to help about 7,400 households in Hampshire and Franklin counties obtain fuel.
Federal funds are also used to administer the program, according to Thompson.
This year, the group continues to accept and process applications, operating with the hope that "things are going to come together," Thompson said.
While a big portion of the work in a fuel assistance program is ensuring residents have their oil tank filled, Thompson said, a "considerable part of the work" also includes helping people who have called saying their oil has run dry and it's freezing outside — circumstances that constitute an emergency.
"We want to be able to help our neighbors. … Nobody wants to have to say, 'no, we can't help you,'" Thompson said.
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