More feel cold's bite, bills' pinch

[jpak]

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/240752-3/LewistonAuburn/More_feel_colds_bite_bills_pinch/

LEWISTON - When there's no kerosene in his tank, Steven Sasseville runs a portable heater to keep warm. Because it can poison his Auburn mobile home with lethal carbon monoxide, Sasseville cracks open his windows during the day and sets his alarm to wake him in case he falls asleep. He turns the heater off at night - poking the switch with a long stick as he huddles in bed, under blankets. He wakes twice in the middle of the night to take a hot shower, just to warm up.

Last month, Sasseville, who has young-onset Parkinson's disease and receives disability payments, was denied help from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly known as LIHEAP. He made $30 a year too much to qualify.

With help from Community Concepts, Sasseville reapplied, offsetting his too-high income with medical expenses. He got $500 from the government to pay for heat.

But Sasseville was panicked in those days between his denial and reapplication. He had visions of spending the whole winter too frightened to fall asleep with his portable unit on, a whole winter of hot showers in the middle of the night.

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