In the spring of 2016, A Place Called Home (the original parent organization), was looking for a local group to take over the community initiative and continue its valuable work. Enter the Central Food Network which adopted Heat Bank Haliburton County. Why? Poverty is not just about having enough food (many of our clients struggle to keep the heat on) so it made sense to that the Heat Bank is now a service of CFN. Together, we provide unique solutions and assistance to people that need it most across Haliburton County.
Heat Bank Website link
*(for more specific and detailed information)
*(for more specific and detailed information)
About our heat bank:
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Heat Bank Haliburton County is a community initiative with a mission to increase the supply of and ease of access to emergency firewood and heat for vulnerable residents of Haliburton County. We are made up of a network of community agencies, organizations, community members and companies who are committed to ensuring that residents within Haliburton County have access to emergency heat when they need it. We recognize that struggling households can be faced with many challenges and our aim is to eliminate the need to have to sacrifice on heat in order to purchase other necessities.
"We maximize donation dollars and redirect unwanted hardwood from landfill."
Thinking about ways to stretch heating dollars, pre-purchasing logs or felling your own - to be cut, split and stacked yourself - will give you the biggest bang for your buck. However, this option is only available to those who are securely housed with some spare money and who are physically able to process firewood themselves. Heat Bank Haliburton County recognizes that we have vulnerable people within our community who are not able to take this route and will not have enough fuel to stay warm this winter. By setting up physical locations through Haliburton County to collect, split and season wood throughout the year, Heat Bank Haliburton County will be available to help those in need. This set up enables us to maximizes donation dollars by purchasing green wood as well as allows us to accept donations of hardwood - some of which might otherwise be sent to landfill.
"Dignified assessments completed by trained staff to determine needs and move households from crisis towards stabilization."
Heat Bank Haliburton County is a program of the Central Food Network and provides client case-management and intake assessment services. All client services are provided in a respectful, dignified and accessible format to clients. Intake assessments are completed in order to establish home heating needs, identify resources available to the household, offer appropriate referrals and assess the household's need for access to emergency heating fuel. Confidentiality is assured by using only trained and empathetic staff who are committed to helping move households from crisis towards balance and stabilization. The depth of the assessment is on a sliding scale and is directly related to how much assistance the household is requesting.
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Heat Bank Haliburton County wood depots are located throughout the County, including Minden, Haliburton, Stanhope and two in Highlands East. This allows for wood donations to be directed to an area close to its source and means that we are really "neighbours helping neighbours".
If you would like to donate hardwood or money to buy fuel, please contact:
If you would like to donate hardwood or money to buy fuel, please contact:
CONTACT HEAT BANK HALIBURTON COUNTY:
Tina Jackson, Heat Bank Haliburton County Coordinator
Phone/Text: (705) 306-0565 or email: heatbankhc@gmail.com.
HEAT BANK HALIBURTON COUNTY WEB SITE: www.heatbankhc.ca
Resources:
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Getting help with a heating emergency:
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Saving money on hydro and heating costs:
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Tips on how to save on hydro:
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How we helped 16/17 Report:
FIREWOOD
OIL / PROPANE
HYDRO
TRANSPORTATION
- 66 truckloads of firewood were given out in emergencies.
- We were also able to distribute an additional 18 face cords of wood from surplus offers - small quantities of firewood that were offered after our wood sheds were filled so the wood was taken directly to households in need or clients picked up directly from the donor.
OIL / PROPANE
- 18 households were provided assistance with heating oil.
- 10 households were assisted with propane.
- A further 9 households received support of a different kind (housing, gas/diesel for generators, etc).
HYDRO
- We completed 12 LEAP (Low-Income Energy Assistance Program) applications and 14 OESP (Ontario Electrical Support Program) applications.
- We issued $12,633 in grants and a further $1,215 in interest-free loans in order to eliminate hydro and heat crises.
- We further sourced out an additional $10,685 on behalf of clients. Special thanks to the 4C’s for the continued support.
- 41 households were assisted with hydro (this could have been advocacy and/or grants as well as advice).
TRANSPORTATION
- 23 households were supported with transportation in order to access services to prevent homelessness. This included transportation to emergency shelter, financial counselling appointments, social service appointments, moving to more affordable housing, etc).
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