In January of 2017 the US Energy Information Administration predicted that winter heating costs would rise for most Americans. The agency expects costs to rise anywhere from 5% – 38% depending on the heat source, as compared to the winter of 2016. These rising costs hit hardest on the wallets of the poor.

What may be surprising, however, is the grim reality that hundreds of Americans succumb to the bitter conditions every year. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that that around 1,200 people a year die from cold-weather related causes of death. Over half of these will be elderly and many more will be children or disabled adults, in homes unable to afford adequate heating.

For America’s financially disadvantaged, it is estimated that paying the monthly winter fuel bill equals a 30% income investment, as compared to a 10% cost for more economically advantaged families. Sadly, such an expense each month only serves to increase the gap between “the haves and the have-nots.” Research compiled by the (now defunct) National Fuel Funds Network concluded that fuel poverty leads to “heat or eat situations, [where] families strive in vain for a safe balance between paying for food and paying for energy.”

For those able to help and those in need of assistance, here are some options: