PARIS — The Rev. Anne Stanley described the people who had come to her for help. There was the man who had been sleeping in his truck for months, another who had slept in Tim Hortons last week and youths ducking into Stephens Memorial Hospital to escape the cold.

Stanley, rector at the Christ Episcopal Church in Norway, said she’s seen more people coming to her church to ask for help this fall than in all her 13 years there.

This year, more are coming in for the first time, Stanley said.

She said she had spoken with four homeless people this fall. The church has a charitable fund, mainly from donations and wedding and funeral fees, but it’s draining fast. She said the Oxford Hills Area Clergy Association has a fund, thanks to fundraisers and occasional aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but clergy are careful with it.

What makes it worse is that churches aren’t the first place to seek aid. They’re not even the second.

Towns have General Assistance funds, meant to help provide basic needs to citizens. Applicants must give income information and show they can’t afford even basic necessities like food and shelter. All citizens who meet requirements are eligible for aid.

“The GA standards are barely subsistence,” Paris Town Manager Phil Tarr said. “Barely.”

Paris has seen a rise in aid requests over this time last year, according to Lynne Chammings, General Assistance manager for Paris. In November 2009, there were 20 applicants; there were 25 in the first three weeks of November 2010.

Tarr said the fund is far from running out, but state law requires the town to help people who qualify for aid.

Aside from town assistance, local groups like Community Concepts are also working hard this year. Lisa McGee, associate director of Energy Services at Community Concepts, administers heating assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

McGee said it’s hard to say whether more people in the Oxford Hills area are applying for heating assistance, but there have been many new applicants. She said her group is booking appointments for assistance into January and February.

The hard part for Community Concepts is a funding dispute at the federal level that reduced heating assistance from $800 last year to $500 this year. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is working to restore LIHEAP funding, but McGee said that even if more money comes, recipients won’t see it until at least February.

“I’m predicting that some of the fallout from that will land at the Town Office,” Tarr said of lower heating assistance.

Monday night, Stanley took her concerns to the Paris Board of Selectmen meeting and followed Tarr’s announcement of increased General Assistance requests.

Tarr said that when he was town manager of Bridgton years ago, there was a summit of town officials, church leaders and representatives from charitable organizations and hospitals.

Stanley said she was amenable to the idea. “It certainly wouldn’t hurt.”

After the meeting, she said an aid summit would be a useful way to “sit down and get acquainted with how we each function and what we’re faced with,” Stanley said. “Maybe we’ll think of some things that will be helpful.”

The meeting hasn’t yet been set, but Tarr said he expected it could happen in mid-January.

Earlier Monday, members of the Black Bear Entertainment group, the investors in the planned Oxford Casino, made the season a little easier for local aid groups.

According to a press release from Black Bear, the group gave a total of $40,000, divided between the Toys for Oxford County foundation, Oxford Hills Food Pantry, Christmas for Teens, the Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center, the Moss Brook Outreach ‘No String Attached program, the Progress Center, and the Dancing Trees Winter Boots for Kids.

Jean Delamater, co-coordinator of Christmas for Teens, called the donation “wonderfully generous.” She said it came as a complete surprise.

Despite the generosity, however, the program is far from fully funded. Delamater said requests for donations are higher than they’ve been in the past by November. Usually, the bulk of requests comes after Thanksgiving.

She said some of the businesses that have been major supporters have gone under, and she’s hoping the annual fundraiser set for Dec. 3 will help fill the funding gap.

The program serves seventh- through 12th-grade students whose parents have trouble paying for presents as well as homeless teens. Delamater said applicants usually ask for clothing, books and personal care items. Applications are available at Community Concepts.

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