A CAMPAIGN to help elderly and vulnerable people in Dorset warm this winter has launched.

The 15th Surviving Winter appeal has been started by the Dorset Community Foundation.

The appeal, run in partnership with Citizens Advice in Dorset, distributes £200 grants to pensioners and people aged 60 and over with a disability, who are living in fuel poverty.

The Surviving Winter funding also helps the Citizens Advice energy team identify people at risk so they can offer the grants, as well as a range of other support.

Over the past 14 years, the appeal has awarded almost 3,000 grants.

Community foundation chief executive, Grant Robson, said despite the reintroduction of the government’s Winter Fuel Payment this year, the appeal, which last year raised more than £50,000 and helped hundreds of people, is still needed.

“Every year in Dorset an average of 590 people die of cold-related illness because they can’t afford to heat their homes properly,” he said.

“Our partners at Citizens Advice tell us that they are seeing older people who are too scared to have their heating on at all in winter or are skipping meals because they are so worried about not being able to pay their fuel bills.

“In 2025, in one of the richest economies in the world, we think that is unacceptable.”

Dan Fancy, trainee Energy Team manager at Citizens Advice, said although energy prices have dropped slightly this year, they are still 50 per cent higher than in 2021 – and many older people are already in arrears on their energy bills before winter sets in.

“What hasn’t helped this year is that other things have gone up in price,” he said.

“Council Tax went up in April, water bills have gone up quite significantly this year, food is still going up in price and people are now trying to prioritise what they’re paying for.

“If you are a pensioner on a fixed income you haven’t got so much room in your budget and maybe think ‘I’m going to pay for my energy bills this month and water bills are going to take a back seat’ or vice versa. It’s easy to see how arrears can mount up or are hard to clear.”

The Citizens Advice Energy Team also signposts people to other agencies and organisations, such as Ridgewater Energy, where they can get free home insulation and other energy help.

“When someone comes in, we take their background information and offer them a benefits check to see what else they might be entitled to,” said Mr Fancy.

“We also look to make referrals for things like water, because they might be eligible for social tariffs, and we always try and get them extra support through the priority services register for their energy and water – there’s all these smaller things that really add up and it’s not unusual for someone to be £100 a month better off after we’ve helped them.”

Donate to the appeal at dorsetcommunityfoundation.org, or send a cheque or bankers draft, made payable to Dorset Community Foundation, to The Surviving Winter Appeal, Dorset Community Foundation, The Spire, High Street, Poole, BH15 1DF.

People can also donate through a BACS Transfer via: Charities Aid Foundation Bank, Sort Code: 40-52-40, Account Number: 00083897 (use reference SW) or on 01202 670815.

If you need energy support from Citizens Advice, contact them on 01929 775500 or via  energy@edpcitizensadvice.org.uk.