Program brings heating help

November 29, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - As temperatures drop, the cost of keeping a toasty-warm house rises, and some residents may find themselves struggling to pay those expensive wintertime bills and keep up with basic household expenses, too.

It can be a headache to pay off mounting bills, especially for heating oil, which is often bought in bulk at prices that spike upward during the winter. But not having a way to heat the home - either because of a utility company disconnection or not being able to afford a heat source - can be dangerous, even lethal, during the winter months.

Last week, the malnourished body of William Suryan, 69, was discovered frozen to death in his Kodiak mobile home, a month and a half after he lost his heat source, according to Alaska State Troopers. &#8220From some of the stuff I got from interviews, he was pretty much a recluse and didn't associate with people very much,” Kodiak Trooper Daniel Cox said, adding that it was unlikely Suryan would have socialized at the town's senior center or revealed to anyone that he needed help.

Mary Riggen-Ver, coordinator of the Alaska Heating Assistance Program, said that may have been why Suryan likely didn't know about the sources of help that are available.

&#8220Our target groups are people who are elderly or disabled or young children under 6 years old,” she said. &#8220We try to get applications to agencies that serve those groups.”

She said the 1-800 number for the heating assistance program appears on door hanger notices utility companies leave when disconnecting service. Kodiak Electric Association shut off Suryan's electricity in October, the same month the heating assistance programs start accepting applications.

Already, the number of applications is up 18 percent from last year at this time, Riggen-Ver said.

&#8220We're always looking for ways to make sure people know about our programs,” Rigger-Ver said, adding that local utility companies are supplied with applications to put in lobbies and copies are also provided to senior centers.

&#8220We do a mailout to everyone who receives public assistance to make sure they're aware of the program,” she said.

Last year, heating assistance provided $10.12 million to 9,055 households in Alaska, she said. Tribal agencies helped another 4,900 households receive help heating homes, she said.

The primary criterion for receiving heating assistance is income. It's based on 150 percent of the poverty level in the state, she said. The 2005 poverty level for a family of four in Alaska, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is $24,190.

Once a heating assistance application is approved, a check is made out to the supplier of the primary source of heat.

Most Alaskans rely on heating oil or natural gas, she said, but if someone heats the home with wood, that person could get a check to cover the cost of fuel for the chain

saw.

Those grants are usually relatively small, she said. Another option for people who use wood stoves: The state's heating assistance program will provide a payment for the individual or business that supplies cords of wood, Riggen-Ver said.

&#8220The heating assistance application is not really that bad to complete. It's easy and there are no interviews,” she said.

Along with the application, residents should send proof of income and copies of receipts from a primary heating source - whether it's propane, natural gas, electric or firewood, Riggen-Ver said.

If the favored heating source is electricity, heating assistance only pays 25 percent of the bill since electricity is also used for other household appliances and lighting, Riggen-Ver said.

For more information, people may call 1-800-470-3058 or check out www.hss.state.ak.us/dpa/heat. Applications are also available at state Health and Human Services agencies. Agencies like Women, Infants and Children also have applications on hand, she said.

Some people are embarrassed about needing financial help, Riggen-Ver said.

&#8220We really watch for confidentiality. The only person who will know is the fuel supplier, or the heat supplier,” she said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at

352-2252 or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.