Lifelong Columbus resident Mary Mullins says she doesn’t need much — but some way to keep cool during the sweltering Mississippi summer heat is something she can’t do without.
Unfortunately, the former special education teacher took a medical retirement from the Columbus Municipal School District more than 20 years ago and is using her fixed income for rent, groceries, utilities and medication to manage her diabetes. And the air conditioner in her home doesn’t work.
Luckily for Mullins and others facing the same sorts of problems, some non-profits in the Golden Triangle are distributing fans to people who have a hard time affording air conditioning.
United Way of Lowndes County has been collecting fans all summer. The fans go to Helping Hands, which then distributes to senior citizens and others who either don’t have air conditioning or can’t afford to the costs of running it. It’s the eighth year Helping Hands has conducted a fan drive.
Nancy Guerry, who is in charge of distributing the fans, said many citizens who get them have electricity bills of over $400. Many people, particularly seniors on a fixed income, simply can’t afford to keep their air conditioner on constantly. Thanks to the drive, Lowndes County residents in need can get a fan for free.
The air conditioning unit in the home Mullins rents on Ninth Street South cools one room — Mullins’ bedroom in the back of the house where she does a lot of her reading. That’s it. The kitchen Mullins keeps cool with a fan a friend of hers gave her. The living room she keeps cool with the fan from Helping Hands.
“It has been so beneficial with the heat … Everything’s been so hot. I am really benefiting from this fan,” Mullins said. “I thank Helping Hands because that’s a great thing that they’re doing.”
The fan doesn’t just benefit Mullins but her daughter and three grandchildren — ages 4, 8 and 10 — who often stay there. Mullins lived in public housing for 21 years before her daughter found the house Mullins now rents. Mullins has lived there for a year-and-a-half, with her daughter and grandchildren staying with her for most of that time.
Getting a fan
United Way of North Central Mississippi in Starkville has gifted $5,000 to the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District to distribute fans to senior citizens in Oktibbeha, Choctaw, Webster and Winston counties. Those fans, which Lowes sold to GTPDD at a discounted price, go to homebound senior citizens, said Candy Crecink, executive director of United Way.
Cindy Brown, outreach coordinator for GTPDD’s Area Agency on Aging, distributes the fans to those the agency determines are in need. Her first priority: people over 60 with grandchildren or great-grandchildren living in their home. There are 350 fans ready to be distributed, Brown said.
To get a fan from Helping Hands in Columbus, go to United Way and Helping Hands at 223 22nd St. N. between 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Guerry said. Bring a current electricity bill, a picture ID and a Social Security card.
Those wishing to get fans in Oktibbeha, Choctaw, Webster or Winston counties should contact Brown on her cell phone at 386-9247 or at her office at 324-4650.
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