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The Salvation Army added an additional $100,000 into its HeatShare program to help offset the increasing cost of propane in Minnesota and parts of North Dakota.
The extreme cold and the steep increase in propane costs have put low-income residents in dire circumstances. Requests for aid from The Salvation Army HeatShare fund have increased, threatening its reserves.
“There aren’t other options for people who depend on propane to heat their homes,” said Lt. Colonel Robert Thomson, Salvation Army Divisional Commander of Minnesota and North Dakota. “The facts are heating bills are going from $200 a month to $900; it would strain even a middle-class family’s budget.”
The Salvation Army’s HeatShare program targets seniors, those with disabilities, and those in need due to crisis situations. The additional $100,000 is being distributed through Minnesota Salvation Army offices in Brainerd, Duluth, Cloquet, Fergus Falls, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, International Falls, Virginia and Willmar, and through North Dakota Salvation Army offices in Fargo and Grand Forks.
“We are especially concerned with seniors on fixed incomes,” Thomson said. “They are often the population that is the last to ask for help. It breaks our hearts to think of our senior population struggling to stay warm in these dangerous temperatures. We pray that these weather conditions moderate or we will run out of funding well before the crisis is over.”
