Something’s gotta give with the problems people are facing just to survive.
One of our biggest current issues is housing, with landlords raising the rent for apartments and rental homes so high that too many folks simply cannot afford to rent a safe, decent place. I live in a condominium complex, and every year about this time I hope and pray and then hope and pray some more that the owners don’t see fit to raise the rent a lot. I have a neighbor who is practically going blind, and she has had a lot of medical bills for her eyesight. She simply cannot afford another rent increase. Renters are having to adjust their budget and cut back, even on necessary items such as food and medicine. That just shouldn’t be the case. These big apartment complex owners don’t seem to care, and they even raise the rent on seniors and the disabled. Seniors are struggling as it is.
I have never seen homelessness as bad as it is now. In the 1990s, I lived with my grandparents in their huge Southern home in Americus, Georgia, and I worked as a writer at the headquarters for Habitat for Humanity. I was so inspired by people who had found their first home. They seemed so happy. I wish now I could witness people moving into their first home and being happy.
This is a major crisis, and as we all know, fall is going to be here and then winter. It’s not going to be pretty.
I have a sister who works for Raytheon in Tucson, Arizona, and she and her husband have a beautiful home up in the mountains. I love to visit her and as I sit there in their dining room, eating a delicious meal cooked by my sister’s husband, Don, I thank God for food to eat and a wonderful place to stay. I get up in the morning and have my cup of coffee and I pray with a heart full of gratitude.
People are also struggling daily with food insecurity. Too many individuals don’t have enough food to eat and don’t have food to provide for their families, their spouses, their children. The friend I discussed earlier also has food assistance from the state, but last year her food assistance benefits were cut from $150 down to $40.
I have deliberated about how to help her, and each week I usually go to a nearby sandwich shop and purchase a sandwich and a Coke and put it on her doorstep. She is my friend and I don’t want her to suffer.
I find it incredible that some places charge about $4 for a medium coffee. There are folks who would love a cup of coffee and more importantly, they would love a cup of soup and a piece of toast. They are hurting, and this hunger affects them emotionally.
Of course, drug addiction can also affect a person’s physical, emotional and spiritual health. Many times, they don’t know how to medicate their mental illness and turn to drug or alcohol use, and then they don’t eat the proper food and they lose weight.
Sometimes they die.
Waiting in line at the Kansas Department for Children and Families office can prove burdensome for many who need food or other assistance. Again, the friend I mentioned waited in line for hours just to discuss her food stamp case with a worker.
I sat in my car outside the office and I thought, “Surely there is an answer for her and for others.” Lack of health insurance contributes to all of the problems I just mentioned. Too many have lost health insurance or don’t qualify for proper coverage. They don’t have the coverage to go to the doctor or for medication that would help them. It’s a crisis. Many folks are in need of a counselor too, but without health insurance, they can’t afford that luxury.
Times are hard for people in Kansas and in the United States. We must think of creative ways to help people in need. Last week, I went to the store and purchased a bunch of hygiene items for a local nonprofit dealing with mental health. It was the least I could do.
We must reach out and help. We must come together with others and brainstorm ways to get people housing, food and health insurance. We can be a beacon of hope and bring people to safety.
- Rebecca Lyn Phillips is a published author, speaker and mental health advocate. Published August 22, 2023, kansasreflector.com
