So, it has been over a month since I blogged. Part of me always hates that, but reality is, part of me started two or three times, read my last blog, cried and forgot about it.
It's amazing to me how quickly life can change, I have had losses since the beginning of the year, to me they were big. They have been huge to others of my friends though, I have yet another friend who lost a sister last month. I can't imagine. I truly have such a long prayer list right now, and it just feels like things are constantly getting worse, I know that's Biblical, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.
So, trying to move on....February was our first slower month for Andrew, he has had some frozen pipes to thaw and insulate but other than that, he has been working on a major furniture restoration project. I don't believe he really realized how much time was involved in this one, but it is coming along and he hopes to have it completed in the next week. (Owners, if you are reading this, I will tell you, I am totally jealous of how beautiful the coffee table is, not to mention the side table--I truly know you will be happy). It has been the first one of those scary months though where the phone hasn't rang everyday. I pray that God would let it ring more, but then I hear him saying, "It's not like he isn't working on something". And He, once again, as always, is right.
This month has been a fierce one at my work as well. I don't know how many of you watched or at least read the transcripts from Governor Rauner's State of the State address, or his budget address the following week, but my program is one on his target right now. LIHEAP is funded through both State and Federal funds. I know I have explained the PIPP program before, but it is the one program that I feel like both political parties, or "everybody", should be happy with. One side always says, "we need to help the less fortunate", the other side says, "the less fortunate needs to learn to help themselves". With PIPP, both things happen. Our clients pay 6% of their income to pay their utility bill every month and then, we pay the rest of their monthly budget bill, up to $150. It has been a good program and in our 9 counties, we have almost 1600 families on it. In Rauner's 2016 Budget, there is no line item for LIHEAP. Our PIPP program is 100% funded through State LIHEAP funds and CANNOT be funded through federal funds. See the problem? I have so many people, including seniors, disabled persons and households with small children that are starting to see the light the end of the proverbial tunnel. I do NOT want to be the train that hits them with, "You've done really well and made progress but now the program no longer exists." I know we need to make cuts and sacrifices, it just always amazes me that it seems to first cuts are always to the poor. I wish I could make people understand, you take things away from the poor and you are cutting your own local throats. I mean, how many truly low income families have the luxury of going to Terre Haute, Evansville, or even Effingham to get their groceries, they mainly stay in town and use their food stamps at our own grocery store. As appalling as that seems to some of you, it is guaranteed money for that store. That leads to the store being able to pay its employees, which leads to them getting to go to Joe's or the Bowling Alley to eat supper, which leads to those people getting to pay their employee's.....you get the picture. And not to mention that someplace like the Bowling Alley is more appealing to our fixed income, or low income families for an occasional night out than say, Red Lobster. People don't like to see this reality but it is, in fact, a reality nonetheless.
This coming week we are going to Springfield, with the hopes of getting to talk to some of our legislators about these funds. To top it off, do you want to know where these tax dollars come from? From a 48 cent surcharge on the regulated utilities (in our area, that is mainly Ameren). I am both scared, and honored to get to do this.
We have also spent a lot of time getting another piece of the puzzle put in place for running this program. Something we have been working towards since its inception is about to come to fruition and I am so very excited. Once again, I have had the honor and privilege of helping get to this point and it is exciting to see something that, in the back of our minds, we kept thinking would just keep getting put off. Me and three of my friends, from other agencies, asked for this to happen two years ago last December. It was for a process that would need to start in April. We were told then that there was no way it could be started by April of 2013, and we said fine, shoot for April 2014, they said no problem. In January of 2014, we got the devastating news that it hadn't even been started but that a team of contractors had been hired and we were shooting for April 2015. I think we all feel a little like Dr. Brown in Back to the Future, when you finally see the flux capacitor working, we are seeing the steps of our recertification starting to work and it is just very gratifying.
So, here's to another crazy week, hopefully a busier month for Andrew, and hopefully one that God blesses us and leads us safely through.
Happy Sunday.
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