Every year, thousands of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents are faced with disconnection because of the high cost of energy. For decades, Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund has been able to provide that bridge for the gap between rising energy costs and what struggling households are legitimately able to pay towards their heat and power. KWW/CF has always been the go-to agency for people when they have no place else to turn to.
“People hit hardest are the working poor with children, the elderly and disabled,” says Energy Services, Inc. Executive Director and Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund and Heat and Housing for Heroes Founder Tim Bruer. “It’s not uncommon for us to be working with veterans with service-related disabilities who have high energy costs.”
While housing and food costs have increased over the years, energy costs have increased at an even higher rate.
“The accumulated costs are such that incomes simply haven’t kept pace, especially amongst some of the highest risk populations like the veterans where we have seen 200-300 percent increase in recent years,” Bruer says. “While government-related assistance, which was originally intended to provide a buffer against those increased costs, continues to have a positive impact, the fact is that the gap is growing between the actual energy costs of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable and their incomes.
“The time of need has never been greater. Government dollars have been frozen in time,” he adds. The Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund was established to keep the heat and power on for those thousands of families in crisis with no place to turn. Through public, private, and community partnerships, KWW/CF provides preventative services and the financial assistance necessary to alleviate potential life-threatening energy-related emergencies during Wisconsin’s harsh winters.
“Now, more than ever, the generosity and active support of the Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund and Heat and Housing for Heroes is necessary because it literally makes the difference whether thousands of households each year have people staying safely in their homes and keeping their heat and power on,” Bruer says.
The generosity of people of all sectors who stepped up to the plate and provided help for people in need has been amazing. Last year, because of the generosity of Wisconsinites, over $1.5 million contributed assisted 5,900 households facing an energy-related crises or homelessness. Those most vulnerable included; 1,598 Senior Citizens, 820 working families with young children, 1,837 people with disabilities and 1,160 veterans.
“For many of these cases, the only alternative they have because they have no place else to turn is prematurely being thrown into institutional care, being homeless, or literally choosing between eating and heating,” Bruer says.
Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund provides, as a last resort, a critical safety net that helps keep people safe in their homes. Because of the generosity of the energy utilities, stockholders and Wisconsinites they’ve been able to make a difference in these households.
“In contrast to many charities, the appeal of Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund is that it is literally in every zip code in Wisconsin for assistance and services and has a proven track record of over 70 percent that are assisted and helped,” Bruer says. “We’re able to break the cycle of reoccurring disconnections and crisis situations. For those veterans who are homeless, we have an over 90 percent success rate over three years of keeping our heroes off the street. “None of this would have possible but for the generosity of our donors,” he adds.
Your contribution to KWW/CF can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life. Donation to KWW/CF can be made by sending a check to: PO Box 68, Madison, WI 53701 or by calling 1-800-891-WARM. For more information, please visit our website at www.kwwf.org.
