For Brenda Saucer, keeping the heat on during Boston’s frigid winters isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.

To make that happen, the Dorchester resident, a former phlebotomist who’s now on disability thanks to a chronic medical condition, has periodically depended on state assistance to pay her bills.

Last year, she didn’t need the money. But this year is a “different story,” she said, because her finances are falling short. And she needs the help more than ever.

It’s the difference between “surviving the winter and actually feeling safe in your own house,” Saucer said during a news conference at the State House on Thursday.

“When this help is delayed or doesn’t come, I’m afraid to turn the thermostat on. If I keep the thermostat low to save money, I could get sick,” she said.

Saucer is

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