WESTPORT — As cold weather sets in, the town’s Human Services Department is ramping up efforts to keep people warm.

The agency’s Warm-Up Fund helps income-qualified households with home-heating expenses through the cold winter months. 

The department’s announcement of the annual wintertime program says the coming cold-weather season is expected to be “one of the most expensive on record forcing some households to choose whether to heat or eat this winter.”

“Between global supply chain problems, inflated food costs and gasoline prices reaching an all-time high, many Westport seniors and families are struggling to meet their basic needs,” Human Services Director Elaine Daignault said in the announcement. 

“As we turn up our thermostats this season, please take a moment to pause and reflect on the challenges of the past year and a half,” she added, “and then consider how the pandemic and economic fallout has disproportionately affected our most vulnerable residents.”

The Warm-Up Fund annually helps hundreds of households experiencing financial hardships, according to Daignault. ”Thanks to the community’s generosity, friends and neighbors can keep their homes warm, the lights on, and food on their tables,” she said in the announcement.

Tax-deductible donations to the program are accepted online here, or by mail to: Westport Warm-Up Fund, Department of Human Services, Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Ave., Westport CT 06880.

For more information or to request assistance, go to the DHS website, call 203-341-1050 or email humansrv@westportct.gov.