ARRIVAL OF COLD WEATHER BRINGS ASSISTANCE REQUESTS

A flurry of assistance requests always comes to social service agencies with any change of weather, and recent cold temperatures have not seen any exception to the rule.

" As cold weather comes on, so will the requests," said Capt. Robert Gauthier of the Salvation Army.

Gauthier said his organization assists nearly 50 people with lodging each month. These people need help, he said, because of the threat of eviction or foreclosure, domestic problems, overnight car problems, or emergency services of any kind.

"The lodging requests are unbelievable," Gauthier said. "If you can imagine something, we've probably seen a case of it at some point."

Gauthier said requests for lodging assistance increase with cold weather, as do requests for aid with paying utilities.

"If a person receives a shut-off notice, we can only help with a portion of the bill," he said. "If we have serviced a person within the past 12 months, they are ineligible." In these cases, Gauthier said, they try to refer the person to other agencies for assistance.

One of those agencies is the East Missouri Action Agency, which also has a utility assistance program. The Energy Crisis Assistance Program provides help with utility payments to people who qualify under Division of Family Services guidelines.

"If they qualify with Family Services, then they automatically qualify the following month for help with a disconnect notice," said Elena Martinez, a community service outreach aid.

Martinez said the EMAA helps people by paying the minimum amount allowed to keep the utilities on. They will service elderly persons two times, she said, but everyone else can only receive the assistance once.

The East Missouri Action Agency also provides weatherization aid to homeowners who qualify. The agency provides things like insulation and other techniques that help homeowners, Martinez said.

Martinez thinks her organization is receiving a higher number of requests than usual for several reasons. The colder weather is always a factor she said, but so is the fact that money is more scarce everywhere.

"There is a lack of assistance there now with welfare reform," she said. Martinez said her organization is also working on half of the budget they received for the program last year, which makes it difficult to meet requests for aid.