PROVIDENCE -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence on Monday launched its annual campaign to provide heating assistance to Rhode Islanders in need.
If early requests are any indication, the number of people needing help with their heating bills this winter is expected to increase tremendously over last year.
"Almost double. What we're seeing is folks who are stretched really thin because of unemployment, folks who are out of work, and then families who really have nowhere else to turn," said Jim Jahnz, of the Keep The Heat On campaign.
But now they can turn to the Diocese of Providence. The fifth annual Keep The Heat On campaign kicked off Monday with an event that included the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.
Gov. Don Carcieri signed a bill into law authorizing a new Patriots license plate in Rhode Island.
"Forty bucks to get the plate, half of which comes back to the foundation. And all of that money will be designated to nonprofits throughout Rhode Island," said the foundation's Joshua Kraft.
Nonprofits like Keep The Heat On, which has raised nearly $1 million over the past four years and has helped more than 3,000 households in Rhode Island pay their heating bills.
The program is already receiving twice the number of calls it did last year at this time, and the weather's been relatively mild.
"Folks have their utility bills. They've been unable to pay them in full. It's been carrying along through the summer into the fall, and now it's the wintertime. Folks really don't have the funds to pay those bills down or even to fill their oil tanks," Jahnz said.
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