{"id":1040,"date":"2020-12-18T11:07:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T16:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=1040"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:32:44","slug":"staying-warm-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/staying-warm-this-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying Warm This Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Crystal Baldwin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heat is a precious commodity. This was an easy lesson to learn when growing up in Vermont.&nbsp;At my house, once the thermostat was set at 68 degrees&nbsp;Fahrenheit, when the front door opened,&nbsp;you\u2019d&nbsp;hear my dad call down the hall, \u201cClose the door, you\u2019re letting all the heat out!\u201d&nbsp;Much of the time, the door would have long been closed.&nbsp;But, that&nbsp;did not&nbsp;keep the puff of cold air that entered from lingering.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cost of heat motivated my dad to be conscious about conserving it.&nbsp;My siblings and I did our best&nbsp;to do just that.&nbsp; We learned to bundle up in sweaters and long underwear to keep the chill off.&nbsp;There were never too many blankets at bedtime. I am thankful that I never felt too cold or too uncomfortable from the cold\u2014except maybe when shoveling during a&nbsp;Nor&#8217;easter.&nbsp;This winter, my personal hope is that every Vermonter will be warm&nbsp;and will know how to gain access to heat.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/12\/Stay-Warm-This-Winter2.png\" alt=\"Resources in VT to stay warm.  Find help now.\" class=\"wp-image-1042\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.1837270341207349;width:442px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/12\/Stay-Warm-This-Winter2.png 940w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/12\/Stay-Warm-This-Winter2-300x251.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/12\/Stay-Warm-This-Winter2-768x644.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/12\/Stay-Warm-This-Winter2-358x300.png 358w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Heating fuel can be expensive.&nbsp;Fuel pricing, outside of pre-buy or fixed price contract, is not regulated in Vermont. People often turn back the dial on their thermostats to preserve fuel to forgo the added expense. The CAP hotline has heard stories of families in need of fuel and living on low to no heat in the middle of winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you or someone you know is having trouble affording heat this winter, I encourage you to seek out programs that can&nbsp;assist:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dcf.vermont.gov\/benefits\/fuel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vermont\u2019s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program<\/a>&nbsp;known as Fuel Assistance, can help those who qualify for the program. We encourage people who need help paying for heating costs to seek out Vermont Fuel Assistance. Vermonters can call 1-800-479-6151 to request an application, go online to apply, or visit their local&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dcf.vermont.gov\/esd\/contact\/districts\">Department of Children and Families<\/a>. Make sure to start the application process before the upcoming heating season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">\u2022&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Don\u2019t qualify for fuel assistance? Your <a href=\"https:\/\/vermontcap.org\/find-help\/\">Community Action Agency<\/a> may have a supplemental program that might be able to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">\u2022&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Have a back balance on your account? Check with your fuel dealer about payment plan options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">\u2022&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The United Ways of Vermont information and referral hotline, 2-1-1 can connect you to additional regional resources.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Know someone who could use extra support? Consider nominating someone for the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketsplit.org\/\"> Split the Ticket&nbsp;Fund<\/a>. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like more information, watch the following video.\u00a0The Consumer Assistance Program\u2019s Assistant Director, Lisa Jensen, was\u00a0recently on\u00a0Across the Fence\u00a0with the Director of Chittenden Community Action, Travis Poulin, discussing this important topic.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>May you and yours be&nbsp;warm this winter.&nbsp;If you find that you&nbsp;are not&nbsp;warm, please seek out the assistance outlined above. If you are warm this winter, consider spreading warmth by checking in on neighbors and encouraging them to contact us when in need of support. If you are able, consider donating a gift of warmth to support a&nbsp;heating assistance program.&nbsp;You\u2019ll be glad you did.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you or someone you know is having trouble affording heat this winter, I encourage you to seek out programs that can\u00a0assist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[481474,705066,705068,505537],"class_list":["post-1040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-consumer","tag-heating-fuel","tag-heating-season","tag-propane","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1040"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2107,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040\/revisions\/2107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}