By Rachel Quigley
As temperatures continue to rise, so too does the price of fuel, and more and more residents from Strabane who are feeling the pinch have resorted to turning to charitable organisations for help.
Speaking to the Chronicle on Tuesday, Raymond Mc Daid, who has been a SVP volunteer for 25 years, revealed that, as the price of oil increases, so too does their workload as an increasing number of people simply can't cope.
From January to March, the organisation was inundated with calls from residents of Strabane seeking help for their desolate situation.
Raymond explains, "We get calls from a lot of different people, commonly single mothers or couples. People just weren't able to pay for oil. Prices kept increasing and so too did our calls.
"It was getting desperate. We helped as many people as possible but unfortunately we cant help everyone."
Last year the society spent £75,000 helping the needy throughout areas of Strabane and the surrounding district, taking in areas such as Ardstraw, Ballymagorry and Plumbridge. But with the way things are going, Raymond expects them to spend a lot more, provided enough money is raised.
"Now that the weather is good, the calls directly related to oil has started to decrease but the number of calls indirectly related to oil has increased.
For example someone may have been saving some money for a washing machine, or even just a week's groceries but their oil runs out so they are forced to spend whatever money they had been saving getting more oil in.
So we'll get a call from someone saying they need help buying food, but that has been as a consequence of spending their grocery money on oil."
The society works closely with several different oil companies in the town so are very aware of who the needy people are.
"If someone calls us and says they can't afford to buy fuel, yet the oil company tells me they have half a tank, unfortunately we are simply unable to help them, when someone else down the road is actually in a bad situation. We have to assess every situation and decide who needs the most help."
Raymond says that bill payers shouldn't forget the price of fuel is increasing and will continue to do so throughout the year.
"We are getting fewer calls about oil now that the weather is warm, but once that comes to an end, people are still going to, quite literally, be left out in the cold and should realistically start putting money aside now.
"We are trying our best for everyone but we want to put the days behind us of children going to bed cold and hungry."
Raymond appeals to the people of Strabane to dig deep into their pockets and give more to the organisation so they can give aid to as many as possible.
"I am very aware that everyone in Strabane and the surrounding areas are struggling now that rent, fuel and food prices are up.
"We are glad of the money we collect and very grateful to people of the area for donating what they can, but we really do need more. We are averaging £95 a week from church collections but it simply isn't enough. Everyone knows that £100 of oil disappears faster and faster these days. Prices are going up, but unfortunately our donations are not."
