On Monday, the Home State Health Plan of Clayton announced a gift of twenty-five (25) brand new air-conditioners and a donation of $20,000 to Cool Down St. Louis, a regional, not-for-profit utility assistance and public education charity. The gifts were presented by Shannon Bagley, President and CEO of Home State Health Plan, at the Vatterott NorthPark campus in North County, as part of a new Cool Down St. Louis project entitled “Keep On the Air,” which is targeted at area seniors and the disabled people, who live alone.

“Working to keep St. Louis families healthy is at the heart of what we do at Home State Health Plan. That is why we’re teaming up with Cool Down St. Louis to address the cooling needs of St. Louis families,” said Shannon Bagley President and CEO of Home State Health Plan. “It is an honor for Home State to help, and we call on other St. Louis citizens to stand with us, as we address the needs of people during these dangerous record high temperatures.”

Officials of the regional charity covering about 16 Missouri and Illinois counties including the City of St. Louis has embarked on a new emergency grant in an effort to help keep down the number of serious heat-related illnesses and deaths. “Keep On the Air,” is designed to encourage area seniors and the disabled to turn on their air-conditioners, and keep them running, and seek utility assistance if there is a “fear” of not being able to pay their electric bills, the forthcoming month. This emergency project is during July only, and the senior/disabled applicant must present a current bill before it becomes past due, and Cool Down will pay a portion of the electric bill, not to exceed $225.00 per household and while funds last.

In many cases seniors and the disabled needing energy assistance in the marketplace have had to use a disconnection notice, or they already would have had to be disconnected, when seeking assistance. “We must stress to area seniors and the disabled that you should keep that air-conditioners on, and not worry about cost during these deadly heat waves, as everyone should be focused on their health,” said Rev. Earl E. Nance, Jr., agency allocation vice chair, board of directors for Cool Down St. Louis.

“Today’s significant donation from Home State Health gives us seed monies to immediately work with our social service partners and encourage them, to process applications, as these special funds become available,” said Melanie DiLeo, chairwoman, board of directors.

“Our beloved seniors and disabled people throughout the metropolitan area should no longer have to wait for a disconnection notice or already be disconnected,” said St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, and honorary vice chair of CDSTL. “It’s the fear that concerns us; it’s the fear that can kill our most vulnerable — that fear apparently has already become life-threatening and we need to do something about it.”

“We appreciate the generosity of the public, Vatterott College, Ameren and the Missouri Foundation for Health; they all have accepted the clarion call of helping their less fortunate neighbors,” said St. Louis City Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson and also a member of the Greater St. Louis Fire Chiefs Association. “This deadly weather has forced us to use these air-conditioners like precious life-preservers; and we certainly can use more.”

In accepting the air-conditioners on behalf of the all-volunteer board of directors, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said, “It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you live, Cool Down St. Louis and Vatterott College need those working air-conditioners; and as we all continue to check on our disabled and elderly neighbors, we will hopefully have enough units coming in daily. I also want to take this time to thank the good people at Home State Health Plan for stepping up to the plate and dropping off these much-needed air-conditioners, as well as your $20,000.”

Official with Cool Down St. Louis announced that within the past several days, it had received a record, 2,500 hotline and on-line inquiries. The charity encourages people who don’t qualify for energy assistance to work with their local electric vendor, and pay something on their bills, and don’t wait until you get a disconnection to try and make amends, as most of the larger Missouri and Illinois electric suppliers do have a budget plan to help a needy or working-class household spread out their debt.

Cool Down St. Louis is still in need of tax-deductible donations, and checks may be sent to Cool Down St. Louis, P.O. Box 868, St. Louis, MO 63188 or log-on to www.cooldownstloouis.org.

This summer the charity is reiterating that it’s only helping seniors and the disabled adults with air-conditioners, and seniors and disabled adults, as well as low-income people may be eligible for utility assistance. Each grant is based upon availability of funds, and income eligibility, etc., and if by chance a social service partnering agency has temporarily run out of funds, asked to be placed on a waiting list.

National Weather Service issues heat advisory
for parts of state into the weekend

JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder today urged Missourians to take extra precautions this week as the National Weather Service issued heat advisories over a large section of the state.

At particular risk are elderly residents. As the official Senior Advocate for the state of Missouri, Kinder urged residents to take extra steps to ensure their elderly family members and neighbors are safe during the extremely hot weather.

“As the temperature rises, so does the health risk to seniors,” Lt. Governor Kinder said. “This hot weather is especially hard on the elderly. I urge everyone to check on their elderly family members and neighbors to make sure their prepared and safe.”

Kinder offered these tips for staying cool:

·         Drink plenty of water. Health officials recommend four to eight glasses a day. Also, it’s important to limit the intake of caffeinated drinks and alcohol. Fresh fruits and vegetables also can help ensure proper hydration.

·         Elderly residents should be encouraged to turn on their air conditioners, especially during the hottest times of the day, from noon until 3 or 4 p.m.

·         If you have elderly neighbors, friends or family – especially those with respiratory problems – check on them daily to see if they need help staying cool.

·         If you need a respite from the heat, take a trip to the mall or the grocery store, or visit public facilities with air conditioning, such as the library, during the hottest times of the day.

·         Many counties have senior activity centers, where elderly residents can cool off in the company of friends and neighbors. Often these centers provide extended hours during heat advisories. To find out if your area has a senior center, call the Missouri Association for Agencies on Aging at 800-497-0822, or call the Lt. Governor’s office at 573-751-4727.

Dangerous heat is expected to continue in much of Missouri until at least Saturday, with high temperatures near 100 degrees and heat index values of 105 to 110 expected through the week.

This year’s special collection drive is being dedicated to the Reverend Earl E. Nance, Jr., chair emeritus and co-chair of the HUSTL allocation committee, who is recuperating from health issues.

“Before his heart attack, Rev. Nance has been a full-force behind our volunteer and fundraising efforts in reaching out to the least of them,” said Lance LeComb, board president of the all-volunteer charity. “Here’s a chance for the religious and secular communities to come together and remember the Reverend, as he has never forgotten the poor and elderly.”

The special religious collection is also a call-to-action requesting that area churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship consider either taking up a collection, or giving from their ‘poor fund’ a grant or donation to help thousands of Bi-state area qualified seniors, disabled and poor households with children, who are struggling to stay safe and warm this winter.

Donations can be made to: Heat-Up St. Louis, Inc., c/o UMB Bank, P.O. Box 868, St. Louis, MO, 63188, or through the secured website, at www.heatupstlouis.org. 100% of all donations are used toward servicing those in need, as expenses are underwritten by an all-volunteer, board of directors.

“This is a tough time for many of our brothers and sisters of various faiths,” said Melanie DiLeo, chairwoman of the board of directors of Heat-Up St. Louis, Inc. “Some of the less fortunate congregations are also struggling to keep their houses of worships warm, too, so in there lies the challenges.”  DiLeo said many congregations have huge utility bills, as well.

However, many of the area needy residents are in desperate need of obtaining utility assistance in an effort to keep their services from being discontinued and many are trying to get their services restored, due to these constant winter cold snaps where the weather cycles above freezing three to four days straight.

“Part of the Christian/Judeo belief teaches us that charity comes before self, and if we can open our hearts to others, blessing will often flow our way,” said Gentry W. Trotter, founder of HUSTL.  “Heat-Up St. Louis has faith in the religious leadership of the St. Louis community, and with all of the world challenges, I think locally we can make a generous difference.”

Since its inception, Heat-Up St. Louis has impacted the lives of more than 277,000 people through public education, heating grants, and referrals through the resource help hotline at 314-241-7668, or www.heatupstlouis.org.

Heat-Up St. Louis officials warn that winter months have the highest incidents of home and apartment fires, often due to the use of unsafe heating method in homes. Officials also urge the public to avoid using electric heaters as a primary heating source.  There have been various house fires because of such incidents, already during this 2011/12 winter heating season.

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Background: Heat-Up St. Louis representatives also stressed the importance that all Missouri residents take full advantage of the Cold Weather Rule, which prohibits shut-offs of utility service when the temperature is forecasted to drop below freezing. Residents who realize they may have problems paying their utility bills should take the first step of notifying the utility company. The Missouri Cold Weather Rule also requires utilities to notify clients about possible financial help for utility bills, prohibits disconnection of registered low-income elderly or disabled customers who make a minimum payment, and allows customers to budget their payments over 12 months. Similar arrangements may exist in Illinois in some form.