Burning problem: Scarborough considers new heating aid

SCARBOROUGH — It’s hard to believe, but Old Man Winter is right around the corner and, with that in mind, communities everywhere are beginning to think of ways to keep their residents out of the cold.

On Wednesday, the Scarborough Town Council was set to consider a new partnership with Project GRACE to help keep the home fires burning this winter. Under the plan, the town would lead a fundraising drive to help Project GRACE help Scarborough residents, while lessening the pressure on the town’s own assistance program.

The town’s general assistance (GA) program – aid it must provide, by law, to the neediest in its community – has actually declined in recent years, from $8,318 at the height of the recession in 2009, to $1,892, last year. However, general assistance has a fairly high threshold for qualification and is limited to helping out with “basic needs.”

“Basic needs are not cell phones, or cable tv, or whatnot,” said Scarborough’s director of human resources, Ellen Blair, whose department oversees assistance applications.

In other words, general assistance may help you with groceries, or heating oil, but not the Internet bill, and not anything while you still have an Internet connection, or a cell phone, or a television, or, oftentimes, anything you can sell to raise funds. In fact, says Blair, a lot of what general assistance agents do is refer those seeking aid to other services, making it the aid of absolute last resort.

That’s where the nonprofit Project GRACE comes in. Living up to its acronym, Granting Resources and Assistance through Community Effort, the group helps Scarborough residents who may be in need but who may not yet be in straits dire enough to trigger general assistance dollars.

“Our mission is to improve the lives of our neighbors, by helping those in need and identifying those willing to share their gifts,” said Project GRACE’s executive director, Mary Rollo. “There is enough for everyone – that’s our core belief.

This season, as the economy continues to stumblebum toward recovery, and cuts to programs like LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program) are expected, Project GRACE expects to spend roughly $32,000 this winter to help heat local homes.

“We are anticipating that the need will go up, that it will not go down,” said Rollo. “We keep in mind that hardship can hit anybody at any time. The majority of families who come to us only ask once, just to get them through a tough spot.”

However, according to a proposal written by Town Manager Tom Hall, “Project GRACE is not able to sustain this level of fuel assistance alone and has been forced to re-direct financial resources from its other important community initiatives to meet this need.”

The plan, said Blair, is for the town to conduct a “community-wide fundraising campaign.” The idea, she adds, is to help Project GRACE raise the funds it needs to meet its mission, without resorting to a tax-funded donation.

If both the Town Council and Project GRACE board of directors agree, the town office will not only spearhead the donation drive, but will handle fund management and record keeping. Project GRACE will process applications for aid, drawing on the town-raised pool in $5,000 increments.

The plan before the council, however, is merely an outline. Many details remain to be hammered out, if everyone gets on board and agrees to proceed.

Following an agreement in principal, “key personnel” will convene to “establish written program guidelines and financial procedures.” That will have to happen in a hurry, as the plan calls for a public relations campaign aimed at raising $50,000 (calculated at a need of 100 households at an average need of $500)  by the end of October. Also, before the cold sets in, a vendor will have to be selected. “Ideally,” the proposal says, one who will agree to a fixed price per gallon for the season.

As with general assistance, payments would be made directly to the vendor. No cash would be given to aid recipients.

“This project is hopefully going to help who may not be able to help themselves,” said Blair.

“We were pleased that the town came forward and suggested this,” said Rollo. “What we are waiting for is to see how the proposal is accepted, or rejected, by the Town Council.”