Needless to say, it's a cold one out there. The National Weather Service predicts highs of 18 degrees during the day, and dropping as low as 2 degrees at night. With the wind chill factor, it's the kind of weather that can bring on hypothermia.
And according to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, oil prices are at an average of $3.93 a gallon.
June David-Fors is the director for the Department of Family and Youth Services in Northborough, which provides a gateway for those in need of financial assistance. Working in tandem with the Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council, the department is the official application site for those in need of fuel assistance.
"Especially after the holidays you start getting a lot of calls," David-Fors told Patch in an interview last year. "People still do need help. People are unemployed. They have lost jobs and have been unemployed for extended periods of time. People who never thought they would have to use this are calling us. In some instances one person or both have lost their jobs, and it's really hard."
Those in Northborough who need help would call or visit the Department of Family and Youth Services at the Town Hall. It is part of a local net under the Federal Fuel Assistance Program, as well as the Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) located in Framingham.
"Instead of people having to drive into Framingham," said David-Fors, "we can do it for them here. We don't make the decision, but we get the paperwork right over to them, and if there's an emergency situation we send it in as an emergency."
Based on a formula provided by the Fuel Assistance Program, qualified families must meet a certain poverty standard, and it is based not only on income, but the number of people in the home. If they are accepted, the payment is sent to the family's regular oil or gas company.
If a resident does not qualify for federal fuel assistance, help is still available through a fund set up by the Northborough Rotary Club. Instituted in 2003, the Rotary Club used the money from an annual spelling bee to feed the emergency fund. Families are referred, also, through Family and Youth Services as well as the Northborough Food Pantry.
The fund is maintained by Northborough Oil, which also discounts the deliveries it provides.
Youth and Family Services can be contacted at 508-393-5020.