Home without heat, what about others?

Moving back to Boston from warmer climates I can honestly say this winter is really giving me a run for my money. I guess I partially expected that- what I didn’t expect is that it would be as cold in my house as it is outside on many days.

My sister and I rent in Roxbury- our place is a place we initially loved until the weather turned cold and our heat barely circulated. Many days since mid November it has been so cold that we have retreated to our bedrooms where we have space heaters (an issue in itself) despite the fact that we keep the heat turned up to 82 degrees. So after our multiple requests to our landlord were ignored we finally took matters into our own hands. We contacted Greater Boston Legal Services, (a United Way partner agency) put our rent in escrow and had the City come out and do an inspection.  Exactly what we thought the city found the property with insufficient heat- which was what we needed to hear since we were looking into moving at this point anyway.

This whole experience has really made me reflect on those who are in homes with limited to no heat this winter- I can first hand sympathize with them and understand how miserable it makes one feel. But beyond that- what if you don’t know the proper channels to follow or like my downstairs neighbors don’t have the means to move out quickly due to financial situations. What happens to people in that situation ?