Things reached a tipping point for TECO Peoples Gas customer Khalia Harvey in July.
“We were doing fine at the beginning of the pandemic,” the animated mother of three explains. “My fiancé still had his full-time job and I was working part-time.”
Then the manufacturing slowdown, caused by COVID 19, created a chain reaction in her fiancé’s job at a bedding warehouse. No products were received, and the few they had couldn’t be delivered to people’s homes. The unemployment system was sluggish.
And Khalia’s job as a waitress didn’t feel safe.
“We were both unemployed in July. I applied for a loan and somehow, my bank account got shut down. We couldn’t access our money for ten days,” she continues. “It was a devastating time. I felt ashamed. I’ve never been in trouble like this before.”
And then Lightning struck.
The Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning pledged to pay energy bills for 91 families struggling during the pandemic, including Khalia’s.
Khalia says, “The help we got from your program and the Tampa Bay Lightning came at the perfect time. Without it, we couldn’t cook or take a hot shower.”
The Lightning donated through Share, a Peoples Gas and Tampa Electric program administered by the Salvation Army that helps people with their energy bills. Khalia learned about Share when she called Peoples Gas to make a credit arrangement.
She was grateful. “Share and the Lightning covered our bill for July. It gave us hope and let us know we were going to make it through.”
Today, things are coming together for the Ocala family. Khalia has a new job. And she’s still grateful for the Lightning strike that gave her the help she needed at just the right time.
Join the Tampa Bay Lightning and other Peoples Gas customers and help a neighbor who may be struggling. Click here to donate to Share.
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