I got a phone call the other day from one of our neighborhood leaders.  A resident of a mobile home park had been without heat for a few days and needed some assistance getting connected to a resource.  Our leader knew just what to do, called Three Rivers and got this resident connected with their emergency service.  Someone went to her house and fixed her furnace.   But as a result of going without heat for several days, many of her water pipes froze and burst.  So she had heat, but still couldn’t live in her home because she didn’t have any running water.  Three Rivers had their hands tied.  The funds that they receive to do the emergency furnace repair are restricted.  Don’t get me wrong - they were incredibly helpful, willing to help piece together other donations if possible to help this resident.  But the point is that the SYSTEM is completely flawed here.

So what is a person in this situation supposed to do?  We all know that in mobile homes the water pipes are prone to freeze - especially if the heat is off.  There are laws that protect people from having their heat turned off, but nothing in place to help people with the collateral damage that happens as a result of a loss of heat.  I think we can find a solution. Ideas anyone?