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The United Way of Bruce Grey has been seeing a huge spike in demand, thanks to the sharp rise in the cost of living.
United Way Executive Director Francesca Dobbyn says that the organization saw a 300 percent increase in request for utility support at the beginning of this year.
“We’re seeing great demand across all of our programs, as it relates to the cost of living,” she told Bayshore News. “We’ve seen a 43 percent increase in [the cost of] furnace oil, so not only is our $700 utility grant not buying as much oil… we have more people that are struggling to keep the heat on, because all of the costs going up and the purchasing powering just being eaten away by this inflation.”
Typically, the United Way gets $5,500 in request for help with the cost of heating oil and electricity. This year, that jumped significantly, to $23,250.
Dobbyn says that with more people feeling the squeeze of rising prices from inflation, the current war in Iran, and the ongoing tariff war with the United States, the prices that people pay today can jump unexpectedly.
“It’s always amazing to me how fast prices jump, when things are already stocked at a grocery store, or the gas is already in the [underground tank] at the gas station, why is it suddenly more expensive immediately, versus the more expensive tanker is [on] the ocean? I don’t quite understand quite how those things go, but all I know is what I understand: the impact on the people we’re trying to serve in the community.”
She is also reminding everyone that at the end of April, the ban on utility companies cutting off customers in arrears is lifted, meaning that now is the time to get payment arrangements in place before you get disconnected.
“Now is the time to go and make that application, to find out what supports are out there, to try and prevent a disconnection,” she said. “It’s much easier to try and prevent a disconnection than to get somebody reconnected after a disconnection.”
She also suggests having open discussions with your family, and letting your teenagers learn about the reality of life with a budget.
“Involve your children, and say ‘hey, you know what? This is the cost of things right now, we can’t afford this,'” Dobbyn suggests. “That’s OK to talk to your kids about. They need to learn where money comes from… Understanding what wants and needs are is a big lesson for children.”
The United Way of Bruce Grey’s Utility Assistance Program provides grants of up to $700 per utility for eligible low-income residents who are in arrears, at risk of disconnection, or already disconnected.
Other resources are available and can be found by calling 211.
There is also the opportunity for those who can to donate to the United Way through their website.