AROOSTOOK COUNTY — Veterans in northern Maine can now get a little extra help staying warm during the state’s colder months.

Wednesday, veteran organization Maine Veterans Project announced the launch of a new heating assistance program for veterans in Aroostook County, in partnership with the Galen Cole Family Foundation and Daigle Oil Company.

The Maine Veterans Project said they have been looking to help veterans in northern Maine for some time, but this partnership is what made it all come together.

“We here at MVP really want to express our thanks to the Cole Foundation for really making this come to fruition,” said Doc Goodwin, president and janitor for the Maine Veterans Project. “Without their resources and their drive forward, I don’t think we would have been able to expand into Aroostook County for many more years.”

The program is live now and will continue as cold weather persists before picking up again in the fall.

“We’ve had a wonderful presence for a long time here in Penobscot County,” said Scott Oxley, president of the Galen Cole Family Foundation. “But we wanted to get further out into the parts of Maine where the resources aren’t as great, and the needs are probably even greater.”

For veterans in need to receive the assistance, they reach out to Maine Veterans Project, who ensures that they meet the requirements and then passes on their information to the Galen Cole Family Foundation. The foundation then promptly orders fuel from the Daigle Fuel Company.

The program is an extension of the Maine Veteran Project’s existing Bangor Heating Program.

“Heating fuel is not so much a need, it’s a necessity. Without heating fuel, people don’t stay warm, and their pipes freeze,” said Goodwin. “Aroostook County is an incredibly challenging area. It’s a massive county, very sparse [in] resources. So, to be able to put a footprint, however small or however big, we don’t know yet, is just very exciting.”

The announcement of the expanded heating program for veterans follows changes to heating assistance on a national level. 

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration laid off Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program workers. LIHEAP helps low-income families nationwide stay warm through the winter. The administration says the cuts are a part of their ongoing effort to trim the federal budget.