To work today is to eat tomorrow
It is best to prepare for the days of necessity

So reads the moral in the tale of the ant and the grasshopper. While the grasshopper fiddled the summer months away, the ant diligently prepared for the onslaught of the coming winter. In the challenging economy of 2008, we are well advised to follow the ways of the ant.

The New York Times is reporting higher heating costs to hit particularly hard in the Northeast where heating oil is 36 percent higher than this time last year.

In a just-released report, almost 70,000 elder-headed households in Massachusetts are estimated to be at risk of experiencing a heating crisis this winter. The average heating bill is projected to be more than $3,000 - overwhelming many budgets. While Massachusetts law protects low-income and elderly residents, people who are ill, and families with infants from having their gas or electric heat shut off during the winter months, it does not afford the protection to oil heat consumers. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is the primary safety net for low-income Massachusetts households that depend on heating oil.

North Shore Elder Services is working closely with Congressman John Tierney as well as Mass Home Care, the state of association of home care agencies, in advocating for increased funding for fuel and food assistance for elders, disabled adults, and low income families this winters. Requests are been submitted to Congress and the Massachusetts Legislature to at least double the amount of funding for the forthcoming winter. The Massachusetts Department of Consumer Affairs has published a variety of helpful winter heating tips and Massachusetts utility companies are offering MassSave with ways to save energy and money.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and other state agencies are sponsoring a local Senior Benefits Expo to help older adults and their family members to learn about elgibility and benefit information for a variety of money-saving programs (see sidebar for more information).

These are some of the steps we are urging elders and their families to take now to, as in the words of Aesop's ant, "prepare for the days of necessity."