The United Way is running out of options for the increasing number of callers seeking ways to stay warm as temperatures stay below or near freezing.
In December, calls for help with past-due utility bills were 55 percent higher than the year before, United Way officials said, and that was before a week of freezing temperatures in January.
The agency reported calls to 211 — the sort that come to United Way from the community looking for referrals to various charity aid — were flooding the center this month. And that’s just a taste of what may come in February, when January heating bills come due, officials said.
“People are calling in and needing heaters because they don’t have enough heat,” said Dr. John Hayes, head of the 211 program. “Some homes here are just too drafty, and they are like sieves when this cold air comes through.”
In addition to calls for help paying light bills, 211 callers are hearing from more people who need space heaters, refills on their propane tanks and other aid, Dr. Hayes said. Unlike electric bills, filling fuel tanks takes several hundred dollars.