TOPSHAM, Maine — Winter can be a financial burden for many Mainers when temperatures drop and heating your home isn’t within your budget. One Topsham-based charity is strictly focused on heating the homes of senior citizens living on a fixed income but said funds are hard to come by this year.
Morningstar Home Heating Relief Fund founder Lesa Lemar said after watching her father struggle each winter to heat his home, she brainstormed with her employer at Morning Star Stone & Tile in Topsham to launch the charity in 2019.
Last year Lemar raised $28,000, helping to heat the homes of 88 seniors. This year she said, "We are seeing fewer donations," but remains hopeful that people will give during the holidays. Her goal this year is $30,000.
Lemar said the funds are used for all heating sources including oil, wood pellets, gas, electric, or wood. Fundraising efforts begin each July and, so far, the Morningstar Fund has raised $9,700.
Average fuel and wood prices in Maine
- Oil: $3.99 per gallon
- Kerosene: $4.99 per gallon
- Propane: $3.08 per gallon
- Wood pellets: $385 per ton
- Firewood: $350 a chord
All funds raised by Morningstar are distributed through the Maine Community Action Partnership (MeCap).
Megan Hannan, executive director at MeCap, said this year they have assisted 15 households so far, but they only have $6,000 left in funds. Hannan said when funds run out, they will refer seniors to government-funded programs like Maine's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps thousands of Mainers heat their homes each year.
So why wouldn't seniors immediately apply to HEAP and forgo the Morningstar Fund?
Well, for some seniors the LIHEAP paperwork and application process can be overwhelming. Those who live on a fixed income and don’t have anyone to help them apply may go without, or those who do apply might be waiting several months before receiving any kind of assistance.
Lemar experienced this firsthand while helping her father Jack Maier, a Maine veteran, apply for LIHEAP before he passed away, almost four years ago.
Each winter Lemar said she and her husband would help fill her father's oil tanks as best they could because his social security checks weren’t cutting it. Maier, who served his country and was wheelchair-bound, applied to LIHEAP but didn't get the help he needed promptly.
“I would help him apply for LIHEAP but he would have to wait for months to get any help at all. The last time he got it, he didn’t receive it until April," Lemar said. "Winter was just a very stressful time of year for my dad, because of that."
NEWS CENTER Maine was unsuccessful in contacting LIHEAP for comment.
Lemar said her father was the inspiration behind her charity, and noted that not all seniors have someone who can advocate for them.
“It is very sad and breaks my heart that a person works their whole life, to retire and relax in their last years, but they are stressed and have to sacrifice," Lemar said. "I think they deserve less stress in their life.”
Maine is noted as having the oldest population in the country, with 22.5% over the age of 65.
According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, 8% of seniors aged 65 to 74 live in poverty, and the same is true for 10% of seniors 75 and older.
How to qualify for assistance
The Morningstar Home Heating Relief Fund sets itself apart from other assistance programs by not requiring an application and works on an "honor-based" system. Seniors don't have to fill out an application, but they must be 65 years or older and live on a low fixed income.
Senior citizens can call (MeCap) at 207.779.7782 to explain their situation.
“Most people who call, get assistance,” Lemar said.