Stephen King Offers Heating Oil Aid
Renowned horror writer Stephen King is raising money for heating oil so low income families in his Maine home town are not forced to endure the freezing winter without heating fuel. (image: guardian.co.uk)
International horror writer Stephen King is raising money to prevent low-income Maine households that rely on heating oil going cold this winter.
The best-selling author has penned classic hair-raisers such as Misery and The Shining. He is trying to raise $70,000 through several radio stations he owns to buy heating oil for vulnerable Mainers in Bangor as federal heating assistance cuts start to bite. The native Mainer will double the amount raised up to $140,000.
“This economy is terrible and [wife] Tabitha and I both worry so much about Bangor because it truly is a working-class town and we are always looking for ways to help, and right now this is a great need,” King told the Bangor Daily News this week.
“And on top of it the price of fuel continues to rise. The cost goes up, the need goes up and the assistance goes down. That’s the bottom line. That’s what is happening.”
The Federal Government has announced sweeping cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), slashing the $5 billion heat aid fund by more than half in a drive to reduce the federal deficit.
The Maine State Housing Authority has been told to expect $23 million in heating oil assistance this winter, down from $55.6 million last year. The situation is similar across the Northeast states, where millions of homes rely on heating oil for warmth during the harsh heating season.
But the Energy Information Administration is forecasting the highest average residential heating oil prices on record this winter. There are fears spiking prices combined with high rates of unemployment across the US and a faltering economy, there will see record numbers of struggling families seeking heat aid assistance.
King grew up in Bangor Maine, where the average winter temperature hovers around freezing.
He now spends the cold winter months in Florida. But he returns with his wife to Bangor and a home in Center Lovell.
The heating oil assistance is being raised through his Stephen and Tabitha King Charitable Foundation.
The Bangor News reported that people were “desperate to find help to fill their oil tanks.” The State governor plans to seek funds to fill the gap from the Maine Legislature.
Craig says: says:
Glad to see some celebrity trying to make a difference. Maine has so many homes that are heated by home heating oil, and with prices rising it is more and more difficult for residents of Maine to pay to heat their homes. Nobody wants to spend their winter wrapped up in blankets and praying their pipes don’t freeze.