As temperatures plummet, electric bills skyrocket leaving some people struggling to make ends meet.
Tammy Sprague takes care of 7 grandchildren under the age of 10-years-old.
Sprague said, "Lot of kids. One of my daughters, I don't know how to explain it, but she just went down the wrong path."
Tammy and her husband work full time, so an expensive heating bill was tough to pay.
Sprague said, "About $325 a month at least, if not more."
Now, Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency picks up her tab.
Sprague said, "It's like a big weight off my shoulders, that's one less thing I have to worry about."
Ronda Martin said they serve thousands of people, and they're accepting more into the heat assistance program. In Wilson County their non-profit serves nearly 340 households.
Martin said, "Our goal is to help bring them out of poverty and into an independent living situation or economic situation."
They provide services in seven counties in our area.
Martin said, "Right now we have plenty of money, we have no wait list at all. So if you fall below 150 percent of the poverty guidelines, please we encourage you, come complete an application. If there's any way that we can help you, we are more than happy to do that."
The people they assist can use their money to take care of other things.
Martin said, "We don't want you sitting around wondering do I pay a light bill this month, or do I buy food this month?"
Sprague said extra cash gives her a leg up for the holidays too.
Sprague said, "This year probably a little bit towards Christmas because I didn't really know what we were going to do for Christmas, so this program helped me a whole lot with that."
To apply you will need your current income for the last 8 weeks and your electric bills for the last year. Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency serves Cheatham, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson Counties. You can find more information on how to sign up for the programhere.
