Nov 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The Diocese of Providence is starting a new program to help needy families pay their winter heating bills.
Bishop Thomas Tobin launched the program Monday by delivering a $2,700 check to a North Providence family whose heat had been turned off, reported the Associated Press.
The funds will come from the diocese’s Interfaith Dire Emergency Fund. They will also help supplement others, such as the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program known as LI-HEAP and the Salvation Army's Good Neighbor Energy Fund.
The bishop decided to start the Keep the Heat On Challenge after the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission approved a 17 percent increase in natural gas prices last week.