KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Inflation and subsequent financial adjustments have affected various facets of everyday life, including the ability to give back to one's community.
Such changes in turn are affecting people who rely on local programs for assistance.
“I get $250 dollars of food stamps every month, and it used to last every month,” said Vincent Flores of Kansas City.
But due to inflation, Flores says meals don’t come as often as they should.
“When you’re on the go all day long, moving around, it’s hard to go anywhere. If you’re homeless, you can't cook when you’re out of food stamps, you can’t buy nothing, so places like this definitely help,” he said.
With the cost of food continuing to rise, Flores now relies on Bishop Sullivan’s One City Café for lunch and dinner five days a week.
“When you don’t have anything, you come here,” Flores said.
Shelter KC Executive Director Eric Burger says his clients are feeling the impact at the dinner table, too.
“Meat prices have gone up, so we don’t have much diversity in meats. We are meeting the need, but we are seeing that impact, that squeeze,” Burger said.
Burger says rising gas prices are also having an impact, along with amounts of general cash donations.
“The generosity has not changed but maybe the ability," Burger said. "So someone in the past who have given us $50 a month, maybe this month they still gave, but they gave us $25."
Making adjustments around the facility to fulfill Shelter KC's mission, Burger says the toughest inflation adjustment is ensuring all guests are accommodated.
“Finding a job has actually been very successful for people, but getting that first place with rents that are going up sometimes 20% more and you need to save more money is certainly having an impact on getting people out of homelessness,” Burger said.
He adds with rent costs rising, more men are having to extend their stay in the shelter.
“We don’t have an emergency bed available because we still got folks. We are waiting for them to transition out, and that definitely starts having a capacity effect,” Burger said.
Despite the additional challenges as of late, it’s people like Flores nonprofits work to provide for tirelessly even through difficult circumstances.
“If this place goes, everything else will go,” Flores said.
