Reductions in LiHeap leave many of Maine’s elderly in danger

In sagging wood homes and aged trailers scattered across Washington County (ME), many of Maine’spoorest and oldest shiver too much in the winter, eat far more biscuitsand beans than meat and cannot afford the weekly bingo game at theV.F.W. hall. In this long-depressed “down east” region, wherethe wild blueberry patches have turned a brilliant crimson, thousandsof elderly residents live on crushingly meager incomes. This winterpromises to be especially chilling, with fuel oil prices rising andfuel assistance expected to decline. But many assume that others areworse off than themselves and are too proud to ask for assistance,according to groups that run meal programs and provide aid for heatingand weatherizing.  “One of our biggest problems is convincingpeople to take help,” said Eleanor West, director of services for theWashington Hancock Community Agency, a federally chartered nonprofitgroup. “I tell them, ‘You worked hard all your life and paid taxes andare getting back a little of what you paid in.’” But in Washington County, the poverty rate among those 65 and older isnearly one in five and many more live only a little above the federalsubsistence standard in 2007 of $10,200 for a single person and $13,690for two.

Source/more:  NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/us/24maine.html?ex=1196917200&en=8c511a1a5f77e490&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Thanks to student Suzanne Guerin for the tip.