MEMPHIS, Tenn. — At one point in his life, Franklin Jones was at a very different place in his life.
“At one time it wasn`t like this. I was homeless for about 13 years,” Jones said.
He called that time in his life a storm.
But with persistence and a little help he made it out of that storm.
“Now I`ve got a roof over my head, a car to drive and a few dollars. I`m happy,” he told WREG.
When he was trying to get back on his feet, Jones was a recipient of MLGW`s Plus-1 program.
Through Plus One, MLGW offers a onetime utility assistance during financial hardships, like a loss of a job, death in the family or some other crisis.
More than 800 requests for help were made last month, but less than 150 could be served.
After being a recipient himself Jones wanted to give back.
“There are a lot of people that don`t even have a job and can`t pay their light bill. So if you pitch in just one dollar, that`s all we`re asking for, I`ll be that will help a whole lot of people. You`d be surprised what one dollar would do,” he told us.
Carolyn Johnson moved to be closer to her grandchildren, and in just 5 years, she became very involved in the community.
She said one of the easiest ways she did that was joining Plus-1.
“It`s economical. I`m on a limited budget and you can`t get any cheaper than a dollar a month. And anyone can afford that. And it`s easy. You don`t even have to send in a check. They will add it to your bill,” she said.
Johnson and Jones said you never know when that one dollar could fuel the warmth someone needs to survive, or spark the encouragement they need to turn things around.
Visit Plus-1 by clicking here.
