Temperatures drop, assistance rises

Government planners aren’t leaving any families out in the cold this winter when it comes to utility assistance. The deputy director at the Missouri Division of Family Services, Janel Luck, says Missouri is getting extra cash for needy families. Federal funding for utility assistance jumped from the usual $24 million to $33 million this year. Luck says poor families can apply for one-time payments to their utility companies, or for crisis payments if they’re about to be “cut off.”