By Deneka Michaud
The Centretown Community Health Centre is experiencing double the number of applicants for the Share the Warmth program this year, says Joeli Reardon, Share the Warmth worker for the health centre.
Share the Warmth is a province wide, non-profit organization that helps low-income households pay their utility bills. People apply through community centres and, if they meet the criteria, arrangements are made to have the organization pay part of their bills.
Approval for assistance is based on the amount one owes for bills, rent, and the like, versus the amount of incoming money. Families, seniors and people with disabilities get preference, says Reardon.
Because the winter has been so cold this year, Share the Warmth is experiencing increased demands, says Hannah Routly, program manager for Share the Warmth in Toronto.
“We’ve at least seen double (the number of applicants) in most areas, and probably triple in some, over what we had the previous year,” says Routly.
Once the no-disconnect regulation for hydro companies is removed on April 1 the program will have an extra surge in applicants because people will have the fear of being disconnected, she adds.
The cold winter means that hydro bills are extremely high.
“People who were paying $50 a month last year for hydro are paying $100 a month this year,” says Reardon.
People that heat their homes with gas have not yet seen any drastic increases in their bills because the rise in prices of natural gas have not yet been passed on to the consumer.
But by next winter there will probably be a sharp increase in gas prices, says Routly. However, those that heat their homes with oil have seen an immediate increase in cost similar to what is seen at the gas pumps, she adds.
With a lack of sufficient funding in some cities, Share the Warmth has difficulty addressing the additional people seeking assistance, Routly says.
However, Ottawa is one of the better-funded regions and the program will probably be able to continue supporting people in Ottawa throughout all of April despite the expected surge of applicants. Many Share the Warmth branches in other regions will not be able to make it through the month, she says.
Last November, the Ontario government restricted hydro companies from disconnecting users throughout the winter. Because people cannot be disconnected they are not paying their hydro bills, letting the amount they owe accumulate.
“Once the notice went out on Nov. 11, the fact that our amount owing from overdue accounts close to doubled; that tells you something,” said Virginia Brailey, director of communications for Hydro Ottawa.
This accumulation of the amounts people owe for hydro means not only that more people will be applying to Share the Warmth for fear of being disconnected, but their bills will be even higher, Routly says.
Share the Warmth is encouraging people having trouble paying their hydro bills to contact their hydro companies so that they can work something out.