JOPLIN, Mo. — An area program that helps residents lower their utility payments is now bigger. The weatherization program at the Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area is getting ready to help a lot more residents than ever before. For that to happen, Assistant Director Matt Daniel says the physical space of their building had to get bigger — approximately 2,400 square feet more. And not just because they needed more warehouse space.

“So yeah, we’re gonna get quite a bit more funding for that so we’ll be doing a lot more homes, uh we had to add additional staff to be able do that, not only field staff uh that use the warehouse and the shop space but also office staff,” said Daniel.

Officials say even if you haven’t qualified for the income-based program before, you might want to now. To learn more about the weatherization program you can follow this link here.