Nancy is a native Joplinite, who resides in the very house she was raised in. In August 2015, the Economic Security Corporation was informed that Nancy was in need of assistance with her utilities. A home visit was scheduled to help Nancy fill out an application for the LIHEAP program. Nancy is legally blind and does not have any family that lives nearby to assist her. She also finds it difficult to arrange for transportation.
Upon completing the application with Nancy, she mentioned her home needed repairs as it had been damaged by the May 22nd, 2011 tornado. The contractors that were paid to fix her home did not finish their job and left the home in substandard conditions. A referral was made to our Weatherization department so that they could determine what repairs could be made.
It had been weeks since Nancy was able to wash laundry, cook a meal, and she had to heat water in the microwave to take a bath. When the gas company came out to activate service, the worker notified Nancy that he could not turn service on because there was a gas leak. The Energy Assistance workers were able to qualify Nancy for the red tag program. The Red Tag Program is overseen by Laclede Gas and was able to help make any repairs necessary so that service could be restored. Nancy’s service has since been restored, and she can now take a warm shower, cook her meals, and wash her clothes.