This is just the beginning of winter. With the economy worsening, and many former donors looking at unemployment, foreclosure, or even becoming homeless, help is needed now, and will be needed more as the winter goes on.
According to an activist who works with elderly and disabled, people are in such dire straits that they are burning furniture for heat. This is a desperate situation. This area of the country is renown for blizzards and during a recent blizzard, the only fuel many people had was their own furniture.
There are several agencies working with the residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation. One, the Link Center Foundation, is currently seeking donations.
http://www.linkcenterfoundation.org/id6.html
October, 2008 through March, 2009
For the Elders, Disabled and the Sick Living on the
Lakota Sioux Reservations in South Dakota
Our goal is to raise $20,000. We are not grant-funded at this time. We depend on YOU, the individual donor, to help these families in crisis.
q Average income on the Oglala Lakota Sioux Pine Ridge Reservation is about $3,500.00 per YEAR. Jobs are extremely scarce; unemployment hovers around 85% on this 11,000-square-mile reservation which houses about 40,000 people. The other Lakota Reservations face similar economic conditions.
q Death by hypothermia is always a concern on the reservations. Each winter (October – March), temperatures drop well below 0*F. Many families must choose between food and heat. In some cases, they have neither.
q Federal LHEAP and Tribal Assistance Programs offer each low-income family approximately $300 per year. With the current rate of propane at $2.20 per gallon, this provides only 136 gallons – about enough fuel for 2 to 4 weeks (depending on the harsh weather).
q Propane prices have already risen about 33% since last winter, and are expected to rise much higher as this winter goes on. Those families surviving with electric heat also face major increases in cost.
q Propane companies require minimum amounts of propane to be purchased before delivery (currently $125 to $355 depending on the company). These minimum requirements are expected to skyrocket as the high cost of truck fuel increases. This makes families struggle even harder to accumulate enough funds at one time to ensure a delivery
Across the nation, families are shivering in the cold; some members will die this winter because they can not afford to heat their homes. Elders will go to sleep for the last time and freeze to their covers. Homeless men and women may not survive another night in the frigid cold. Shelters have no room. Those who have homes and apartments are sitting in the dark, with the lucky ones out scouting the neighborhood for wood to burn in their fireplaces.
Think about taking the money for that new pair of shoes that you really don't need and donate it to a reputable not for profit's fuel or energy assistance program. Forgo that soft drink, latte, or impulse snack that you could do without and donate it to a worthy cause.
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