SERVICE AGENCIES OFFER COOLING EQUIPMENT TO QUALIFIED PEOPLE

The grip of summer heat can be relaxed with a quick call or trip to the Salvation Army or the East Missouri Action Agency Inc.

Capt. Elmer Trapp of the Salvation Army at Cape Girardeau said this is the fourth year that the agency is making available its fan loan program. Effective immediately, he said, the agency is also opening its doors as a heat relief center.

The Salvation Army building is at the corner of Sprigg and Good Hope.

Individuals borrowing a box fan must meet certain criteria: they must be 55 years of age or older, have in the home children who are 5 years of age or younger, or be handicapped, said Trapp. Only one fan per household is permitted.

"Within the last three weeks we have distributed about 50 fans. We usually distribute somewhere (around) 100 fans throughout the summer months," said Trapp, "but it appears that will increase because of the earliness of the heat spell."

Trapp said it seemed to get hot earlier this year.

Fans are available by calling or visiting the office between 1 and 4 p.m., he said. Individuals borrowing the fans must pick them up at the agency's building. Trapp said the fans need to be returned at the end of September.

The agency can be reached at 335-7000.

The fan loan program is a life-saver made possible by a $1,000 contribution from the Cape Girardeau Kiwanis Club, he said. At times, Trapp said, there are newspaper stories of elderly people dying because they are overheated.

Anyone having fans they would like to donate to the agency may do so. Contributions to the program will also be accepted.

People wanting a respite from the heat throughout the day may stop by the agency's air-conditioned building during its business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Box fans are also available on loan from the Cape Girardeau County office of the East Missouri Action Agency. The office is in Cape Girardeau at 1301 N. Kingshighway and can be reached at 334-5533.

Christine Farrow, community services representative, said the agency had eight fans left over from a total of 21 that were provided through cooling assistance. In addition to the fans the agency received 10 air conditioners. But Farrow said the air conditioners were already gone.

The agency's criteria to receive a fan generally parallels that of the Salvation Army's. There must be a child under 5 in the home or the person must be 60 or older or meet some kind of medical need, such as asthma, that requires a cooling of the home, said Farrow.

Farrow said she likes to have the fans and air conditioners returned by the third week of September.

The agency also makes available assistance for summer utility bills, she said. The maximum amount the office can pay is $100. Farrow said the money must be paid in one lump sum and must keep the client's electricity and thus air conditioning on for 30 days.

To receive the assistance, she said, a person must have received a disconnect notice for their electricity. From there the same criteria applies as for fans. The exception is if there is no child under 5 or the person is not 60 or older, the person must have a condition that would be life-threatening if they did not get the assistance, Farrow said.

Not being able to serve everyone is the most frustrating part of her job, she said. On average, she said, she receives 25 to 30 calls a day for emergency assistance alone.

"It's a bad situation out there," she said. "A lot of my clients are either staying at a friend's house or they're staying in the home without electricity."

Included, she said, are cases where small children are staying in homes where the electricity has already been cut off or is on the verge of being cut off.