(WSBT) Snow is in the forecast later this week, and the furnaces are now running.

NIPSCO estimates heating bills could be 20 percent higher this year, because you may recall last year our winter got off to a very warm start.

Richard from Shipshewana has a Good Question: What help is available for people struggling to pay for heat?

WSBT's Kirk Mason looked into it.

We all know it’s coming. The sun and warmer temperatures will leave. For many, the cold is just an inconvenience. But for others it's a major financial issue.

“I don't know how they make it, I really don't,” Leroy Barnes told WSBT News. “Because the money that they make they don't have anything to spend. They barely can get by for food.”

Barnes lives in downtown South Bend at a place where the heating bill is included in the rent — a big relief as we head into the winter months.

“That's one thing we don't have to worry about — the heating bill,” he said. “And it's more comfortable, you have more money.”

Not everyone is so lucky. Thousands of applications come into South Bend's REAL Services, Inc.

“It's a larger need they we can meet,” said Ingrid Simmons of REAL Services.

Last winter, REAL Services helped 9,600 local families. To qualify a person must make no more than $15,315 a year. Each additional person in a household adds $5,220 to that maximum.

“And then the heating benefit is anywhere from $180 to $240,” explained Simmons.

But many families make too much money to qualify. In those cases NIPSCO offers a budget plan. you pay the same amount on gas year around to cushion the winter blow. NIPSCO recommends signing up right away before the really cold air arrives.

NIPSCO also offers a Winter Warmth Program. You qualify for aid if you make no more than $20,420 a year. For each additional person in a home that maximum grows by about $7,000.

If you qualify for any of these programs you should call NIPSCO or REAL Services as soon as possible. For more information, go to News Links.