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Date: 12/30/2021
HAMPDEN- The Hampden Senior Center is looking for donations for their emergency fuel fund.
At a recent Board of Selectmen meeting, Senior Center Director Rebecca Moriarty shared the balance was low for the emergency fuel fund. The emergency fund is donation-based where the center receives private donations to fund an account. The account is then used for Hampden residents only who are in a tough financial situations where they are in need of oil delivery for their home or are behind on their gas. The resident can call the center and can be provided a one-time help with the fuel payment.
Moriarty explained, “Throughout COVID, we found that the number of people requesting emergency fuel increased and therefore we find ourselves with a balance that is lower than what we have seen going into the winter in previous years.”
The Hampden Senior Center helps residents if they have an emergency shut off notice, if they’re below a quarter of a tank of oil, run out of pellets for their wood stove or any type of heating crisis. Outreach Coordinator Wendy Cowles said, “The outreach office here at the Senior Center is the only social service agency in town. We help any resident in Hampden with any fuel issues or need help getting SNAP, food assistance program. We can help any resident in town with any issues that they’re having, and the fuel is definitely one of them.”
The purpose in starting this fund was due to folks having heating issues during the winter months and couldn’t afford to get an oil delivery, so they ended up freezing in their homes. Residents were in dire need of help, and locals started making donations to the fund from then on. Cowles said generally, if a resident is getting oil delivered, it would be about 100 gallons – the minimum an oil company will deliver. In some cases, if someone is behind on a gas bill, the center will look at the gas bill and will pay the payment that they’re behind on.
Cowles told Reminder Publishing last year with COVID-19 the center had a lot of residents reach out to them and they were able to meet everyone’s needs. The center helped more people last year during COVID-19 then prior years; helping people apply for fuel assistance as well as applying for SNAP. Cowles saw an increase in residents needing additional services to get through the pandemic.
“For some years, we didn’t have a huge list of people looking for services, but last year there was definitely an increase with COVID and people not working and having a tough time making ends meet,” Cowles added.
The Hampden Senior Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. A donation for the fund can be mailed or dropped off at the center located at104 Allen St., Hampden, MA 01036, specifying that is be used for the emergency fuel fund. Anyone interested in applying for fuel assistance can contact Wendy Cowles at outreach@hampdenma.gov or 566-5588 and ask to speak with her.