Flexibility with rules can help those in need

We are facing depressionlike economic crises that require us to be creative and work cooperatively outside the box of regulations in using resources to help small businesses and families maintain their profitability and safety for those who are often forced into combining their business location with their residence to remain viability of both.

Here's just one example that is being replicated across our nation, according to those organizations with which we've worked and spoken about this issue during recent efforts to preserve small businesses and their combined residences.

Project HOPE used several mentoring groups in multiple congregations to help a family move from internal disaster, bankruptcy and depression into a strong faith practice, a viable, successful family, using an Individual Development Account matched savings account and leveraged property (with support and creativity from a local bank providing the impetus for the business progress) to start a full-time business and build an office building.

More than a year ago the family knew that economic conditions and the failing condition of their home required them to move into the building, set up for a business, to remain viable and successful. Subsequent economic downturns resulted in closing of the businesses of some customers and taking in extended family members as they faced the inability to maintain their own residences. Now the family cannot access federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds, even though they qualify according to their limited income at the time.

The Department of Social Services sets Missouri guidelines for use of LIHEAP funds in the state, using the flexible and broad federal guidelines that state: "No person at or under 110 percent of the federal poverty level can be denied access to these funds." The department is willing to look at economic conditions that are similar to the Great Depression, when extended families moved into their business locations in order to keep their only source of income viable and to provide their only viable source of housing for the family they loved.

The federal LIHEAP funds are put forward for residential utility support that focuses on seniors, disabled and children in a residence. Since this extended family, with a person who is disabled and with children living in their only residence, happens to reside in a commercial building originally set up as a commercial business, and since they currently meet income requirements, you'd think there would be no problem in using LIHEAP funds to guarantee the safe residence by assuring that there is utility support for this extended family.

It takes creative thinking to find solutions to a once-in-a century economic difficulty. Thus our government leaders have seen fit to lend billions to wealthy Wall Street businesses, whose directors have made millions annually and normally receive additional millions in bonuses for producing great economic growth.

While we work to return service to the only residence for this extended family and the Department of Social Services is at least looking at flexing the guidelines to help preserve this and similar families, the East Missouri Action Agency is actively promoting that similar situations are within flexible federal guidelines and the intent of the funding to support safe residences. Local not-for-profits are providing ongoing support, but the snag on this particular issue comes from AmerenUE, which is not being flexible in its determination of what constitutes a residence.

According to representatives in the credit department, an original commercial account cannot be designated as a residence unless the account is paid in full and the people involved remove all signs of the business from the location and keep the business elsewhere. Then AmerenUE would allow this extended family to set up a residential account that would qualify for LIHEAP support.

Project HOPE is appealing to our congressional delegation, the Missouri Public Service Commission, congregations, the Department of Social Services, social-service organizations and people interested in good and just stewardship of our precious, life-giving resources to be creative and flexible in making quick adjustment to Missouri guidelines and use the same creativity and flexibility of federal LIHEAP guidelines to allow monetary support for people who are forced to combine their homes with their businesses as we face difficult economic conditions.

We need viable small businesses, and we need safe residences with the basic necessities: water, utilities, protection. Please support the flexible interpretation or rewriting of guidelines for use of LIHEAP funds to guarantee that our economic inflexibility does not destroy families and small businesses at the same time.

Denis Rigdon is the CEO of Project HOPE in Cape Girardeau.