Federal shutdown creates uncertainty for Maine cancer patient struggling to stay warm

BAILEYVILLE, Maine -- Setting the thermostat astatine 60 degrees utilized to beryllium nary occupation for Gerard Berry, adjacent during harsh Maine winters. Then helium got sick with tummy crab and struggled to enactment lukewarm arsenic helium mislaid weight.

“I utilized to archer the kids, ‘Put a sweatshirt on.’ But erstwhile I got sick, I got truly thin, and we had to propulsion it up a batch more,” said Berry, 47. “We burned a batch much substance past twelvemonth than we ever did.”

Berry’s household of 7 got assistance filling their lipid vessel past winter. But Maine officials and those successful different states are scrambling to benignant retired their options successful airy of the national authorities shutdown.

An exigency assistance programme that typically starts Nov. 1 and helps 7,000 Maine families per twelvemonth remains connected hold. But MaineHousing is reallocating $2.2 cardinal earmarked for weatherization to marque archetypal payments for astir 4,000 households that applied aboriginal to the broader Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Borrowing funds from 1 programme to wage for different is not ideal, but “this volition get the trucks rolling,” said Dan Brennan, manager of the quasi-state agency. Over the adjacent fewer weeks, households that applied successful August and September volition person wealth added to their accounts with substance vendors.

“This volition assistance forestall heating emergencies for our astir susceptible neighbors, household members, and friends,” Brennan said.

Commonly called LIHEAP, the $4.1 cardinal programme helps 5.9 cardinal households nationwide vigor and chill their homes. While the uncertainty implicit its aboriginal is raising concerns crossed the country, New England officials are peculiarly acrophobic fixed the region’s reliance connected lipid for heat. Electric and earthy state companies mostly are barred from pulling the plug, but much than fractional of Maine households trust connected oil.

In Baileyville, a tiny municipality adjacent the Canadian border, Berry puts integrative implicit his windows and blankets nether the doorway to artifact the wind. In summation to the exigency assistance, helium has benefited from a substance donation programme successful Hancock and Washington counties known arsenic “The Heating and Warmth Fund,” oregon THAW. His religion assemblage besides supported him done his illness, which included a terrible lung infection, sepsis and country to region portion of his tummy and colon.

“The happening astir having religion is, you don’t person to worry. Like, God’s got maine nary substance what,” helium said. “But I cognize that a batch of radical are truly freaking out. They’re truly nervous, and it’s bittersweet to me.”

Berry considers himself “very conservative” but said helium thinks some Republicans and Democrats are being manipulative. His said his unwellness prompted him to absorption little connected Washington and much connected his section community.

“Hopefully radical are waking up, but hopefully they aftermath up successful the close way,” helium said. “Instead of waking up and being like, ‘Let’s commencement a revolution!’ Let’s aftermath up and let’s spell shingle hands with our neighbors.”

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Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.