It was a bitterly cold night and the mother didn’t know what she was going to do. The old furnace sat paralyzed in the freezing basement having sucked the final few drops of heating oil from the narrow fuel line attached to the now-empty tank.

No fuel and no heat meant that she and her two children would need to find a way to survive the night in their unheated house. During cold weather houses without heat for some reason seem colder inside than the temperature outside. Why is that?

The mother did the only thing she could do. At bedtime she, her two children and their dog all slept closely together so they could keep warm. It was their combined body heat that provided the only warmth throughout that long night.

This is a true story that happened recently, but it’s not about a family living in some Third World country. This is about the hard times of a family living in Windham. Maine. Like many parents this mother was struggling, trying to pay the bills and take care of her children, but now she was out of options.

Unfortunately, many local families find themselves trying to survive the best way they can during the winter. A cold house isn’t swayed by the fact that little children or animals are the ones suffering from the lack of heat. A cold house doesn’t care about the understandable circumstances that brought the situation of an empty fuel tank.

There are many more local, real-life stories, like the mother of a 2-year-old who ran out of heating fuel and was told by local agencies that she would have to wait until the end of the month to be eligible for assistance. Then there are many elderly who intentionally live in minimally heated homes, often as low as 60 degrees, in a desperate attempt to save what little fuel they have left.

What can be done? Fortunately, there is a group of volunteers who came together in 2008 for the purpose of assisting people who need emergency help. This volunteer group is called Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors (WNHN).

WNHN receives and carefully reviews requests for assistance prior to determining the eligibility of an applicant. The procedure includes requiring the applicant to first seek assistance from the town’s General Assistance program and from Opportunity Alliance, formerly the People’s Regional Opportunity Program (PROP). Once those options have been exhausted then WNHN becomes involved. If the applicant is qualified, WNHN purchases and arranges for the delivery of 100 gallons of heating fuel to the residence. This assistance is limited to once per year per applicant.

The review process is quick and void of the usual bureaucratic red tape. In fact, the procedure could take less than a couple of hours. The WNHN volunteers stop whatever they are doing and initiate the eligibility process to expedite the request.

It’s the generosity of local people whose contributions make this help possible. All donations are used to purchase fuel and all donations to WNHN are tax-deductible.

WNHN provides assistance from October through April. This year we started with $24,000 and are already down to $17,900. The coldest months are still ahead so more donations are urgently needed to get through the winter.

Heating assistance from PROP sometimes takes six weeks or more – not very practical if the tank is empty now. In fairness, it should be noted that oftentimes local administrators’ hands are tied when trying to provide time-sensitive response.

The stories are sad and heart-wrenching, especially those involving innocent and vulnerable children. But thankfully many people are helping including the Varney family which recently decided to make a donation to WNHN instead of buying Christmas gifts for each other. Also, McGoldrick Brothers Blasting just made a substantial contribution to WNHN once they heard about the need.

As president of WNHN, I ask anyone who can to make a donation to help those in our community who are desperately trying to stay warm. Call me at 892-8941 for details and together we really can be neighbors helping neighbors.

Bill Diamond, of Windham, recently completed four terms as senator from District 12.