FY 26 Supplemental Budget Includes $35 million for Vulnerable Households Facing Spiking Heating Costs
Boston, MA – March 17, 2026 – “We are grateful to Speaker Mariano and House Ways and Means Chair Michlewitz for responding so positively to our urgent request for supplemental fuel assistance resources,” said Joe Diamond, Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP) Executive Director. “We are in the midst of an unprecedented situation, and we very much appreciate their recognition of the need and their fast action,” he added.
The war in the Middle East has caused the price of home heating oil to suddenly rise to as high as $5.25 per gallon in some parts of the state – and is rising. This shines a light on the perilous situation that thousands of vulnerable children, elderly, veterans, and disabled are in as they exhaust the federal fuel assistance benefit they received in December.
“The instability brought on by the federal government shutdown, the freezing weather in February, and now rising prices – sometimes over the course of a day – have made this among the toughest winters the over 160,000 households we serve across the state have ever faced. This is particularly true for the over 45,000 who heat with oil, 90 percent of whom have exhausted all resources, added Diamond.
“Our clients are desperate. Most of our households that heat with oil are out of their oil or will be within a few days. Right now, we do not have the resources to help many of them. A state fuel assistance supplemental resources will help oil heat households get oil back into their tanks and help them get through March and into April,” said Pam Kuechler, MASSCAP President and Executive Director of People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE) in New Bedford. She added that the Community Action Agencies (CAAs) are grateful for the partnerships they have with elected officials and that elected officials have responded many times when the need was great.
Liz Berube, Executive Director of Citizens for Citizens (CFC) in Fall River, pointed out, “The Legislature and the Governor have helped us over the years when we have reached out. We do not reach out every year; only when conditions require it. Over the past 40 years, we have done so 20 times and almost every time the Legislature and the Governor have responded positively to our requests. We are grateful on behalf of the 160,000 households we serve with fuel assistance for the response from the Speaker and the Chair of House Ways and Means.”
Specifically, $35 million will provide oil heat households with approximately $650 each, enough to access 130-140 gallons, just over the minimum amount most home heating oil companies will deliver. The average tank holds 275 gallons; at $4.70 per gallon, $650 buys 138 gallons or about half a tank. It is important to note that 100 gallons in New England lasts a household between 8-12 days during cold temperatures.
Fuel Assistance is a nearly universal program for CAAs in Massachusetts, serving over 150,000 households, and is essential to the wellbeing of the individuals served. It is a powerful economic support program while at the same time serves as a health and safety program, as well as a housing preservation program, and as part of a service integration approach, is a door to other services like Head Start.
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About MASSCAP
The Massachusetts Association of Community Action’s 23 private, non-profit human service and advocacy organizations work to administer key anti-poverty programs in every city and town in the Commonwealth. These organizations serve approximately 600,000 low-income people annually, more than half of them with incomes below 125% of the federal poverty level.
For 60 years, Community Action Agencies have been on the front lines of addressing poverty — administering federal programs, federal community services and community development grants, and state funds. CAAs are economic engines in cities and towns across Massachusetts, providing communities with an annual infusion of over $1.2 million in total resources. CAAs generate at least twice that amount, helping clients become economically stable and mobile.