Energy Justice Expo Brings Aid Providers Together

Kathleen Barrett (left) and Beatrice Vincent share a laugh Friday at the Energy Justice Expo in East Falmouth. BRENT RUNYON/ENTERPRISE

FALMOUTH- How am I going to afford to heat this house? How will I pay for food? How can I keep my family healthy? Is there anyone out there who can help?
These questions were asked and answered at the first Energy Justice Expo at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in East Falmouth Wednesday night.
“In the energy discussion, we believe human rights has to be at the top of the agenda,” the Reverend Robert F. Murphy, one of the organizers, said. “The goal is very simple. We want all people, in all places, to enjoy an adequate supply of energy that is safe, affordable, and sustainable. We want everybody to be warm and safe this winter.”
To that end, Beatrice S. Vincent, tending a booth for the Falmouth Service Center, said the organization can help people who need fuel assistance. Single people with an income of less than $20,800 and married couples with incomes less than $28,000 are eligible for the program.
The service center also offers help signing up for the food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is available to single people who earn less than $1,734 a month or $2,334 a month, for married couples.
The service center also provides food, clothing, medical equipment, and some household goods to eligible residents. 
One theme of the evening was helping people who have a hard time asking for help. Kathleen Barrett, the outreach coordinator for the Falmouth Council on Aging, said her group offers help with a variety of programs for seniors, such as fuel assistance and food stamps, and light home repair, like changing light bulbs and smoke detector batteries.
The problem, Ms. Barrett said, is that, “[People] don’t come to me for help. They’ve always been self-sufficient. They don’t want the help.” Many seniors, she said, would rather have the help go to families with young children, but often it’s the seniors themselves who need help the most.
The John DeMello Senior Center, which was also represented at the expo, offers many health-related programs, like massage, hearing and blood pressure tests, legal and tax assistance, as well as social activities such as arts and crafts and poker, all free of charge. Membership in the senior center is free to residents age 60 and older.
For Rita Mitchell, public health nurse with Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, the most important thing will be keeping everyone as healthy as possible through the winter. Flu shots, she said, are the best way to prevent serious illness, and this year there is plenty of vaccine to go around.
She also said hand washing is the single most important thing to do to prevent illness.
Ms. Mitchell reminded residents that people with the flu are contagious a day before they show any symptoms. Seniors should always get flu shots, she said, and people ages 2 to 49 can get the active flu vaccine, which is available as a mist.
Margaret M. Song of the Cape Light Compact handed out free compact fluorescent light bulbs, and reminded people of the easy things they can do to make their homes more energy efficient. Simple things like locking windows, she said, can create a better air seal and prevent heat loss.
She also reminded people about the Cape Light Compact’s free energy audits, which not only provide residents with ideas to save energy, but are also the easiest way to qualify for electric and gas rate discounts, fuel assistance, and weatherization assistance up to $2,000, depending on the person’s income level.
A family of four whose income is less than $42,400 is eligible for the full benefits. Energy audits are free for everyone, and currently the waiting list is about eight weeks.
Ruth M. Bechtold, operations manager at the Housing Assistance Corporation, said her organization also offers low-income heating assistance and energy audits through Keyspan and NStar. She said people should remember to have their heating system cleaned, which will not only make it safer but also more efficient.
Heating, Ms. Bechtold said, “is a basic right for people—people shouldn’t have to worry about freezing to death in their homes at night.”  
Asked what people in general should do if they need help, Ms. Bechtold said, “Give us a call.”
Another energy justice event will take place on Sunday, November 16, at the Tilden Arts Center on the Cape Cod Community College campus from 2 to 5 PM. State Senator Robert A. O’Leary will be the featured speaker at the event entitled “Energy Justice: Helping to Connect for a Warm, Safe, Dry and Mobile Society.”