Wednesday, Jul. 20, 2011

Group helps folks keep the lights on

On a recent afternoon of record-breaking heat, several people headed to a nondescript brick building in downtown Wake Forest to get assistance paying their utility bill so their power wouldn't get turned off later that day.

When they headed back into the sweltering afternoon a little while later, the volunteers at ChurchNet arranged to pay the utility company so the people would have air conditioning and lights the next day.

ChurchNet is a group of 17 churches of various denominations that work together to provide funds and volunteers to give emergency relief to residents of Wake Forest, Youngsville and Rolesville who are unable to pay their electric, water or heat bills. Last year the group provided more than $48,000 worth of assistance to about 450 people.

"Especially with the high temperatures, electricity and water is just so essential today to everyday life, including cooking, showering and staying cool," said Doug Leary, a ChurchNet volunteer.

Each person can receive $100 in assistance paid directly to the utility company after volunteers verify their account is in default, and residents are eligible for money only one time per calendar year. While the group mainly helps with utility bills, ChurchNet also pays for prescriptions when residents do not have money for necessary medicine and provides referrals to other agencies that can provide additional help when needed.

"Our group is based on the premise of churches working together to show God's love to those who really need it in our community and to help them feel better about themselves," said Mary Hitchcock, co-chairwoman of ChuchNet.

The group was started in 2005 when Hitchcock began helping people in need through her church, Wake Forest Baptist, and realized that more people could be helped in a more efficient manner if local church pooled their financial and volunteer resources. Hitchcock said the group is looking for more churches to join and welcomes volunteers or donations from people not associated with one of the member churches. ChurchNet clients come from a variety of situations and demographics.

"We have single grandmothers raising grandchildren to construction workers who are not able to get enough work to pay their bills," Hitchcock said.

The town of Wake Forest also partners with ChurchNet to donate money to help their customers who are unable to pay their utility bill through the H.O.P.E. (Helping Others by Providing Electricity) Program.

The program is administered through a partnership between the town and ChurchNet. Wake Forest accepts one-time and regular donations from residential and commercial utility customers and directs all the proceeds to ChurchNet, according to the town's website. ChurchNet determines who qualifies for assistance and how much help they receive, the website says.

"We started the program to provide a way for neighbors to help other neighbors pay their utility bills by paying a couple of extra dollars," said Drew Brown, Wake Forest's customer service supervisor. "If each of our customers gave $1 a month we would be around $75,000 to help other Wake Forest residents."

ChurchNet is appreciative of the support from the town.

"It's not every day that government and church-based organizations work together," Hitchcock said. "The fact they want to do this is tremendous and something that other governments and towns can learn from."