SCITUATE — George can’t wait for spring to arrive so that his peace of mind may return.
The disabled former truck driver and his wife depend on a small monthly social security check to live and must often decide whether to purchase food, medication or pay bills.
Like a growing number of Rhode Islanders, George, age 67, constantly worries about keeping his house safe and warm.
George underwent pulmonary surgery last June, and is still recovering from the operation in which a large benign tumor was removed from his lung. The frail man, who also suffers from diabetes, still has difficulty breathing and most often has to sit and rest.
“I have a lot of health problems,” he says. “I hope the tumor doesn’t come back. I still worry about it.”
When George recently exhausted the heating oil allocation he was awarded last fall from the the Tri-Town Community Action Agency, he sought help from Bishop Thomas J. Tobin’s “Keep the Heat On” program and received 100 gallons of home heating oil.
“I would have had to go live with my son,” he says, adding that the assistance from “Keep the Heat On” allowed the couple to remain in their home. “When it gets cold, that’s where my wife goes. The pipes here would have froze.”
George added that when his son has extra money, he fills a small container and brings his parents three or four gallons of fuel, which is quickly depleted. The frugal man seldom raises the thermostat above 55 degrees and wears several layers of clothing to keep warm.
“I’ve got my coat on now,” George says in a telephone interview, adding that when he goes to bed at night, he closes the bedroom door to keep the heat in the room.
“I don’t want to lose the heat,” he laments. “Oil is very expensive.”
The concerned man noted that his physician helps cut medication costs by frequently providing him with samples.
“I wouldn’t be able to survive if I had to pay for all my meds,” George says. “I get nervous thinking about what’s going to happen to us. I’m expecting a miracle: They do happen.”
George says that he’s very grateful for the assistance provided by the “Keep the Heat On” program, and for the respectful and compassionate manner in which he was treated by the office staff.
“Thank God we’re in America,” he says, quietly. “I think it’s wonderful. I say a prayer every night for the bishop and for all the wonderful people. Someday I’d like to give back to people who appreciate it.”
“Tell everyone I thank them from the bottom of my heart,” George says. “I appreciate it so much.”
To apply for assistance through “Keep the Heat On,” call 421-7833 or log on to www.heatri.com.
Donations by check can be made payable to “Keep the Heat On” 184 Broad St., Providence, R.I. 02903, or via a secure online server at www.heatri.com/donate.
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