Fred got his second shutoff notice from the electric company. He tried to budget his expenses, but things got out of hand. His heat is provided by electricity to baseboards. He lives in a small one-bedroom apartment and spends most of the winter in the kitchen. The kitchen stove runs on gas and he uses that as a primary heat source, trying to save money on electric heat.

Fred worked hard all of his life driving a delivery truck for a local company. He never married and he took pride in being as self-sufficient as possible. It was a rare day when he asked for help from anyone.

This past winter Fred’s neighbor heard him coughing a lot and she checked on him and quickly realized he needed to go to the hospital. He spend a week in the hospital recovering from COVID and pneumonia. 

A hospital social worker helped Fred fill out the forms necessary for state assistance for a variety of programs. It took a lot of persistent coaxing to get Fred to be willing to submit the forms. He still had to deal with his electric bill.

The social worker called the Windham County Heat Fund and we were able to pay his bill and avoid a shutoff. He also owed the electric company $500 and the heat fund also paid that so that Fred could have a clean slate after he returned home from the hospital.

As a single mother with two children ages 6 and 8, Crystal was able to pay for rent, food and utilities and not much else. Every week was a financial struggle and without the help of her mother as a babysitter she would have been in an impossible situation if she had to pay for day care.

Crystal had one full-time job and on part-time job. Her employment provides health insurance for herself and her children are eligible for Dr. Dynasaur. Last February Crystal was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She felt lucky she had insurance to pay for her treatments. But because she missed so many work days her boss fired her.

Crystal has been eligible for fuel assistance from the state of Vermont. Her allotment ran out when she was fired from her job. A state caseworker referred her to the Windham County Heat Fund and we were able to give her enough oil to make it through the winter. 

I was a bigger allotment than we usually give but we look at each application and make decisions based on a variety of factors. When the fund has enough money in its account we are able to be flexible. In this case, flexibility was important for Crystal and her family.

Jane, a 75 year old resident of one of the smaller towns in Windham County, had carefully anticipated her wood needs before the heating season as she usually does. Things have been pretty much the same for the past few years. This winter was a little different and there was a lingering cold spell that depleted her wood supply faster than expected.

As the wood pile dwindled she knew she would need another cord to make it through the heating season but she did not have the money to buy another cord. Jane lives on her Social Security income and not much else and she is very careful with her budgeting for all the essentials she needs to survive.

She called 211 and found out about the Windham County Heat Fund. We sent her an application and we were able to contact her wood dealer who was able to bring her one cord, which was enough to keep warm for the rest of the winter. Jane felt that her Vermont pride and self-sufficiency ethic was hurt having to ask for help, but she expressed gratitude for what the heat fund was able to do.