BAGDAD, FL - As temperatures drop with the approach of winter, there are a lot of families in this down economy that need help weatherizing their homes.

As Channel Three's Greg Neumann explains, there is more of that help available than ever before.

This is the home of Charles and Amy Locke: An elderly couple who live here with no central heating or air, no insulation and no weatherstripping.

But they and hundreds of other families will soon have all of that despite the down economy.

"Its cold. I'm tellin' ya."

The Locke's moved into this historic Bagdad home in 1961.

But as the years took their toll on it they've had neither the money nor the ability to weatherize it.

"Well, I'm not able to do nothing. And my wife is not able to do a hell of a lot."

So Community Action Program is doing it for them.

"We're gonna replace that hot water heater, the refrigerator. We're going to weatherstrip and seal the front door."

In fact, the non-profit organization is doing this same thing for about 12 times the number of homes they did last year all because of 5.3 million dollars in federal stimulus funds.

"We're gonna average 20 to 30 houses a month where in the past we would average 2 to 3 houses a month."

Those homes are spread throughout Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.

And with more homes to work on comes more jobs.

"We've increased contractors, they've been able to hire, because you know we've increased the workload out in the field."

A different set of federal funds will also increase the amount of money available for energy assistance as well to help people pay their heating bills this winter.

And if you have a home that needs weatherization or you need energy assistance, you can find out where to apply by logging on to our website weartv.com and clicking on newslinks.Local Families Need Help With Weatherization