Pearl River Valley Opportunity has received more funding to help residents in the Picayune and Poplarville areas.

Case Manager Lillie Crawford said that assistance is available for those who may qualify and that funding can help with unexpected expenses in repairing or replacing HVAC systems, covering unpaid electricity bills or to making repairs to electrical systems in a home that are unsafe.

Crawford said priority is given to households comprised of the elderly, disabled or with children younger than 5. Other households will be assessed accordingly.

Even if a household has received assistance from PRVO in the recent past from CARES Act funding, Crawford encourages those people to apply for assistance again if they need it.

So far, PRVO has been able to replace 12 central HVAC systems in local homes and 12 window units.

Anyone applying for assistance with an electricity bill will need to provide their photo identification along with the bill. Crawford said that the person applying for the assistance has to be the same person whose name is on the electricity bill. The amount of assistance will be determined in part by the amount owed and all assistance is paid directly to the electricity provider.

After a year of being closed, the PRVO office is back in operation, but people are asked to make appointments first by calling 601-798-4944.

Once an appointment has been made to pick up an application packet, they can fill it out and drop it off in the drop box in front of the office, located at 309 N. Main St., or mail it to P.O. Box 1895, Picayune. Applications can also be found online at https://virtualroma.mdhs.ms.gov/.

The funding for this round of assistance comes from LIHEAP under the CARES Act.