This past winter, Veronica found herself a newly single mom struggling to make ends meet and keep the heat on for her and her son. She turned to the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization (ILCAO) for assistance.
ILCAO signed Veronica up for the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP), a special payment plan that allows elgible customers to a pay a portion of their household income each month to maintain utility service. The PIPP program protects customers like Veronica from getting their heat and electricity services disconnected as long as they continue to make their agreed upon monthly payments.
“[ILCAO] helped lower my electric bill. … It has helped me out to keep my electric on so me and my son don’t get cold,” Veronica said. Without the PIPP program and the help of ILCAO Veronica’s electricity probably would have been disconnected. “Being a single mom is hard and this program takes a lot of worry off of my shoulders,” she said. “The girls that work at [ILCAO] are sweet. They don’t look down on you for needing help. I hope we never lose this program. It helps to have HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) to lean on. It takes a lot of stress off of me as a new single mom.”