LITTLE ROCK, AR. -
Keeping the utilities on is so important that one woman refused a trip to the hospital because she desperately needs help on her utility bill.The lines are long. The wait seems to drag on. But when it's a choice between power on or off standing or sitting is worth it.
"The fairground people said they got here at 6 and they were blocking traffic on Roosevelt," Lavel Neal of the Central Arkansas Development Council said.
The Central Arkansas Development Council kicked off the summer portion of its utility assistance program for thousands of central Arkansans. For many, this is their only choice.
"I'm between a rock and a hard place," Christine Murley said.
Murley can't work because her husband and daughter both have severe medical issues, and the heat could make them worse.
"I don't know what else to do. My parents can't help. His parents can't help and nobody else has funding the CADC," Murley said.
Murley needs three hundred eighty dollars to keep the lights on. That's only half the bill.
"I pray for them everyday. The people who work here and put up with all of this. They've got to have prayer," Murley said.
Murley is praying for herself, too -- that she can get ahead so she give back to this program that helped keep her family out of the dark and heat.
"I have confidence that what I do that way karma does come back. You get what you give," Murley said.
The Central Arkansas Development Council will accept applications again Tuesday, July 10, at 9 a.m. at the state fairgrounds. They will serve the first 600 people.
