My name is Steven, and I live in a small town called Blaine, up in the crown of Maine, with my extended family and our beloved pets. Our household includes Grandma Michelle, who is going blind; Grandpa Stacy, who is over 70 and still working part time despite his arthritis; Amber, who keeps our home running and cares for her three children; and myself. We also have two dogs, Roxy and Ava, and two cats, Ditto and Mimm. We are a close-knit family who always tries to help others, and put them before ourselves.

Our power was shut off due to a high bills, the power company was charging us $1500-$2000 a month and we could not keep up with it. Now that our power has finally been turned back on we could definitely use assistance, we are trying to get into programs that could help with insulating our house and becoming less drafty.

When we bought our old farm house, it was not fully insulated and it was and still is drafty. We had to replace a lot of things and fix things ourselves without the help from the owner, he refused to help pay. He also tried to take us to court and sue us for the money that we put into this house. The man who rented to own it to us was dishonest about its conditions. With Grandma's health declining and Stacy having already suffered frostbite, getting our power shut off again would put everyone at risk, especially the elderly and our pets.

Helping keep our power on so that we do not get shut off would mean everything to us. It would allow us to keep provide the heat our family desperately needs, keep everyone safe, and give us hope that we can make it through this winter. It would allow us to not break the bank so that we can still buy our essentials to make it through the winter. I don't make enough to cover all the power bill alone, and the stress is overwhelming. We are reaching out in the hope that our community and kind strangers can help us get through this. Any support you can give will make a real difference for our family and our pets.