As utility bills increase, seniors in the community who live off a fixed income need assistance in paying them to keep their air conditioning working and water running.
Senior Life Midland is an organization — mainly comprised of volunteers — that is devoted to helping retired seniors in a variety of ways.
Kathleen Kirwan-Haynie, the organization’s executive director, said there are seven main programs that Senior Life coordinates.
“We have what’s called ‘One Day at a Time’ we help with utilities. We help pay water bills, electric bills.” she said.
Director of Nutrition and Homebound Services Paul Cervantez commented on the recent increase of electrical bills and how it impacts seniors they assist.
“Electricity is up 70% in Texas, and this is really affecting them,” he said.
He then remarked that he had two bills on his desk that are $400 to $500, basically twice what they cost in the past. This is especially poignant considering some seniors they’re in contact with make as little as $700 to $800 a month, and electricity is not the only utility that needs paid for.
“You got water, you got gas, which is also up. We’ve had situations where a senior gets a bill that’s really high and they can’t pay their rent. It’s a problem for seniors,” Cervantez claimed.
Senior Life Midland uses the organization’s money, mainly accumulated through donations, to pay bills for seniors who need it.
“Midland has been really good to our agency; we’ve got money available to help seniors,” Cervantez said.
Cervantez explained that utility companies can sometimes insist on only speaking directly to the customer for privacy reasons, but they aren’t aware that their customer may deal with confusion or other age-related trials that inhibit them from effectively discussing the topic.
Seniors unable to pay their bills could utilities shut off, and the West Texas heat can be unrelenting. For the area’s seniors, living without air conditioning can be, at best, highly uncomfortable and at worst, a serious health risk.
“Our agency is great about getting to the situation quickly, we don’t wait around because it’s life or death,” Cervantez said.
Kirwan-Haynie added, “Many already have health conditions. We have many that have Alzheimer’s, we have many that need oxygen, that get dehydrated very easily and it’s really, really hot and sometimes they forget to drink their water or don’t really have good drinking water. It can be an extreme health hazard.”
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Donate, or join Senior Life Midland as a volunteer by visiting their website:
