Lynn agency: Heating help is available

LYNN – With fuel supplies dwindling and winter showing no sign of loosening its icy grip, heating assistance organizations urged needy residents Friday to reach out to local churches for help.?The Society of St. Vincent de Paul at local churches has been a great source of assistance for those households who have exhausted their benefits. People who are out of benefits are urged to call the church closest to them,” Lynn Economic Opportunity stated in an email on Friday.Nearly 3,300 people from Lynn and surrounding communities applied to Lynn Economic Opportunity?s Broad Street fuel assistance program for heating help this winter, and LEO, according to its statement, expects heating help applications to total 4,345 by the April 30 deadline.?LEO urges residents to plan ahead for the rest of the winter season and apply for fuel assistance now,” urged the statement.The agency provides qualified applicants up to $1,280 in heating oil purchase assistance, as of Feb. 6, and up to $525 in natural gas or electrical heating purchase help with that amount expected to increase.Under LEO income guidelines, individuals with incomes of up to $32,000 annually can apply for heating help and a family of four with an income of up to $61,700 is eligible for assistance.United Way, the Boston Foundation and other organizations helped LEO provide heating assistance this winter and Citizens Energy helped LEO enroll 110 households to sign up each for 100 gallons of free oil after the residents exhausted LEO assistance benefits.Citizens spokesman Brian O?Connor said Citizens assists individuals and families with free oil after other fuel assistance sources are unable to help them. Citizens? assistance program spanned February and ended on Friday.O?Connor said Citizens clients have been hit hard by this winter.?Over the last couple of years, fuel assistance in actual dollars dropped 40 percent and fuel prices have gone up 30 percent. Add in single-digit temperatures over a long period of time and that?s a triple blow,” he said.Area housing and code inspectors said they are surprised by the low number of heating assistance calls to their offices this winter from residents complaining about no heat or insufficient heat.?Nine times out of 10, they let their tank run out of oil,” said city of Revere housing inspector John Ferrara.Ferrara responds to no-heat complaints by making sure the complaint is accurate and – whenever he can – calling a residential property owner to arrange to have heat turned back on or a heating system repaired.If an oil tank runs dry, Ferrara said owners typically must call a plumber to reprime the tank so that it functions.Peabody Health Director Sharon Cameron said the state sanitary code requires owners to provide residential heat between Sept. 15 and June 15 with temperatures maintained at 68 degrees during the day and 64 degrees at night.Owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing heating systems even if tenants may be responsible under a residential lease for buying heating oil or paying for gas heat.?No heat” complaints must be resolved in 24 hours, Cameron said, or the owner can be fined.?And then, if they don?t comply, we would initiate a court complaint,” she said.