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ABCD urges families, seniors to get help with utility bills NOW!
Moratorium on shut-offs ends May 1
Deadline for fuel aid extended to May 15
BOSTON – Massachusetts residents have until May 15 to apply for fuel assistance
to help pay their utility heating bills and avoid shut-off.
“We are worried that natural gas and electric customers who have run up enormous
heating bills this winter will miss out on financial help they are entitled to
and have their utilities shut down,” Drew said. “Our doors are open and we can
help eligible families and seniors.”
In addition, residents who heat with fuel oil or propane may still be eligible
for assistance. Any resident struggling with a high heating bill, whether for
oil, gas or electric should contact the ABCD Fuel Assistance program immediately
to find out if they qualify.
Seniors and families who have received shut-off notices from electric and gas
companies for unpaid heating bills may qualify for financial assistance from
Action for Boston Community Development’s Fuel Assistance program.
“This has been a brutal winter and everyone has seen increasingly high heating
bills. Electric rates are up more than 30 percent,” said John J. Drew, ABCD
President/CEO. “While there has been a lot of news coverage about families
struggling to pay for heating oil, spring is the time when the other shoe drops.
The winter moratorium on utility shut-downs ends May 1 and those with high
balances on their bills are getting shut off-notices, setting the stage for
devastating situations for low-income working families and older residents.”
A family of four with an income below $23,850 is entitled to $1,095 in fuel aid.
Sliding scale eligibility makes it possible for a family of four with an income
of $62,727 or a single person with an income of $32,618 to receive $660 toward
their heating bills. An income eligibility chart is attached.
ABCD’s Fuel Assistance program serves Boston, Brookline, Newton, Malden,
Medford, Everett and surrounding communities. Applications for fuel assistance
and information on all its energy programs are available at ABCD’s downtown
office and any of its Neighborhood Service Centers, or by calling the ABCD Fuel
Assistance Hotline at 617-357-6012. Information is also available at the ABCD
website: www.bostonabcd.org. For a list of ABCD neighborhood locations please
visit: http://www.bostonabcd.org/service-centers.aspx
About ABCD:
ABCD serves more than 100,000 low-income Boston-area residents annually through
its central offices and a decentralized network of Neighborhood Service Centers
(NSCs), Head Start centers, Family Planning sites and Foster Grandparent sites.
Programs and affiliations include Fuel Assistance; Head Start; Child Care
Services; Child Care Choices of Boston; Education; Career Development; Housing
and Homelessness Services; Health Services; Family Planning; Urban College of
Boston; University High – an Alternative High School; Ostiguy High School for
high school students in recovery; Weatherization; Foster Grandparents; Elder
Services; Intergenerational Programs; management of the Combined Federal
Campaign, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and City of Boston employee giving
campaigns; advocacy and consumer services. |
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