The cooler weather has households already turning to the Father Fred Foundation for help with heating bills.
TRAVERSE CITY -- It's a packed waiting room at the Father Fred Foundation. People are waiting their turn in line to request heating assistance for this winter.
"Now that the weather is starting to get a little cold we're seeing more requests for propane for example. This morning about 70% of the funds that are already out the door by noon had been requests for heating assistance," says foundation operations director, Norm Bamberg.
Bamberg says requests are up 25% from this time last year and he expects that number to only rise as temperatures continue to drop.
"At this time last year we did about a 150 thousand, we're up to nearly 200 thousand right now...We're really not doing anything special we're just trying to keep up with the demand," says Bamberg.
Plus, with the foundation facing possible cuts that could come from the state budget deadline, providing assistance could become more challenging.
"It does seem to get a little harder each year to try and keep up with the demand. Obviously Thursday will be a big deal to see what will happen with the state budget and it is a challenge but we do the best we can with the resources we have," says Bamberg.
Bamberg stresses that if you need assistance with heating bills there's a specific process that needs to be followed.
"We require to see a shut off notice. We're also required to see a denial letter from the Department of Human Services first before we do anything. That way the family has explored all the other areas to try and get help with their energy bills," says Bamberg.
Most importantly, he says it's best not to wait until the last minute to ask for the help.
"As soon as their energy gets to that critical point whether it's a shutoff notice or a low percentage in a propane tank they need to take action....First of all, if the propane tank goes to zero there's a big safety inspection that has to be done on top of getting it refilled," says Bamberg.
The Father Fred Foundation says there is a cap of $400 per household per year for heating assistance. For more information on the heating assistance contact the foundation at: (231)-947-2055.
