Pittsylvania County assistance programs.

How to get assistance on your energy and utility bills

Bee Informed is a group that is made up of dedicated volunteers, and they are working diligently towards helping people pay their energy bills in Danville and Pittsylvania County. They have been focused now for almost a year with helping the disabled and elderly in the Danville area as well as Pittsylvania County pay their utility bills. The program spun off from a group that Rev. Thomas Motley started during last year’s election campaign.

Felicia Culley is one of the group’s primary volunteers, and she said people do have to qualify for assistance on their bills. They just don’t hand them money. Bee Informed goes and pays the utility bill. They are going to keep doing this until someone solves the underlying problem, and people can get back on their feet.

They have paid dozens of peoples utility bills since last October, and they now have dozens of more people on the list waiting for aid. They anticipate the list growing throughout the year, and they are committed to helping as many of the elderly as possible pay their bills.

They are always looking for more donations for the program. Donors are asked to send checks to the group, and make out the checks to the City of Danville. Bee Informed will fill in the account number before taking the check to central collections.

All contributions and donations will go towards paying utility bills. Felicia Culley said that the volunteers do not get paid for their time or contributions.

The group is holding activities to help raise money. So far, the group has held a yard sale and a dinner to raise money to fund the program, and they are doing what they can to help individuals in need any way they can.

For ticket information, to donate, or for more information call Felicia Culley at (434) 429-2423, Sylvia DeShazor at (434) 250-5580, or Angel Motley at (434) 334-7279.

 

 

 

Help paying for prescription medications

If you are struggling with paying your health care expenses or paying for your medications, Pittsylvania County Community Action Inc.’s Pharmacy Connection service may be able to help. The agency has received tens of thousands of dollars in federal government stimulus funding. The agency is partnering with local pharmacies to help uninsured and low-income residents get long-term prescription medicine for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart conditions, or high blood pressure.

The prescription medication program also helps with paying for and offering free short-term medication like antibiotics for sickness. For those needs, residents will get a voucher from a PCCA office and then go to a partner pharmacy for their prescription drugs. After finishing the application process, Pittsylvania County residents will receive their medicines in three or six month supplies.

Patients will still need to pay a shipping and handling fee for the pharmacies and processing charges, but the highest amount a patient will ever need to pay for their medications is $25 for a six-month supply of generic medicine. So the savings can be tremendous. As an example, for some medicines that cost about $200 per month, the program could mean savings of hundreds of dollars so that residents can then pay rent, utility, other medical or hospital bills. Click here to find other prescription drug programs.

 

 

General Assistance Programs in Pittsylvania

• Transportation - The agency will provide free transportation that can be used to take clients to doctor’s appointments, help Project Discovery students visit college campuses or other PCCA activities.
• Consumer Education - This counseling and advice program teaches families and individuals skills like debt counseling, nutrition, parenting, family economics, budgeting, credit card assistance, and resource management. Find other ways to get credit card help. Learn more.
• Angel Food - This helps low-income families and seniors by getting double the food for $30 payments.

Mary Carman at (434) 432-8071 or (434) 250-4905. Apply in-person at the PCCA office at 53 Depot St. in Chatham, Southside Community Action at 707 Piney Forest Road in Danville or Southside Community Action at 58 W. Church St. in Martinsville.