Local charities ponder impact of major federal funding cuts

With the avalanche of federal budget cuts, local service organizations and charities providing services to the most vulnerable in the population are seeking answers as they brace for fewer resources to help the public.
Several pressure points have emerged.
The new Missouri law HB 595 makes it illegal for local cities to require landlords to accept federal housing assistance. That move is likely to decrease the number of housing options available to low-income renters. In addition, higher utility rates, such as the recent 35 percent increase from Liberty Utilities, boost the potential for people falling behind on their rent and utility bills. Landlords passing higher utility costs to their renters will impact those on a fixed income harder.
Rebecca Luebbering, with the Barry-Lawrence County Coalition of Charities, sees the situation getting worse as the seasons move into winter.
Changes at OACAC
The Ozarks Area Community Action Council (OACAC) has a reorganization underway that involves closing some of its community centers, including the Lawrence County center in Aurora and the Barry County center in Cassville. That raised additional concerns. However, according to Lindsey Dumas-Bell, OACAC communications and development director, changes at OACAC are retooling the 60-year-old organization, rather than reducing services. She said the in-person model for reaching people in need is no longer the only option.
“Now we can meet people where they are,” Dumas-Bell said, through online meetings and community hubs. OACAC, which serves 10 counties, is moving to three primary centers and a series of community hubs located in other service organizations’ buildings. The Springfield hub, for example, moved on Aug. 7 to the O’Reilly Center for Hope.
Dumas-Bell said the hubs will be one-stop shops.
OACAC ends its fiscal year on Sept. 30. The seven programs OACAC manages are all federally funded through community services block grants, including funding its neighborhood centers. Dumas-Bell said the “wheels are in motion” to determine future funding, but at this point, OACAC has no commitments of federal funds for its coming year.
Future aid for paying utility bills unknown
One program Luebbering is most concerned about is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This appears to be one program that has very few alternatives. “We’re getting ready to have a $400,000 shortfall on utility supplements,” she said. “There’s no replacement funding on the local or state level.”
Crosslines in Monett offers up to $200 assistance in a year to individuals, requiring a match from another source. Crosslines only serves Monett, Verona, Pierce City, Purdy, and Freistatt.
“LIHEAP is not ending,” Dumas-Bell said. “We are still taking applications for LIHEAP’s cooling program.”
Locally, OACAC provided energy assistance through LIHEAP to 920 Lawrence County residents, 504 specifically during the winter through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program, 276 during the summer. In Barry County, 904 people received energy assistance, 316 for winter help specifically and 201 for summer cooling.
What happens next remains a matter of speculation.
Meeting in Monett planned for Aug. 25
To help clarify the situation, the Coalition of Charities is hosting a series of public meetings with service experts. The next one is slated for 11 a.m. on Aug. 25 in the community room at the main branch of the Monett Library. There will be eight regional speakers on hand as well as 14 on-site networking partners. Additional information is available online at www.CoC-Cares.org.
Looking at state and federal legislation trends, Luebbering envisioned future assistance will all have some kind of work requirement tied to it. She expressed concern that the most vulnerable in the population would not be able to meet job requirements. Able-bodied seniors can volunteer with a non-profit organization for 10 to 20 hours, and that will meet the job requirement, opening another option if a funding program is available.
“The Coalition of Charities has helped over 1,000 people in the last five years get a replacement Social Security card, a birth certification, or a license or non-driver’s license,” she said. “You need these to get a job. If you don’t have one, it takes eight weeks to get one. That’s eight weeks without any money coming in.”
She noted that the lowest amount of Social Security the elderly and those on disability receive is $970 a month. The average rent with utilities in the Monett area is more than $1,000.
What happens when the money runs out
“A lot of people will sell their cars to buy groceries,” Luebbering said. “We’re going to see lots of stuff being sold to pay for rent, cars, utilities, and groceries. A lot of people sold heirlooms in the Great Depression because they had to eat. You can live in your car, but you can’t drive a house. There’s going to be a lot of one-car families soon.
“We haven’t always had federal funding. People now live more beyond their means than they used to. We’ve got a couple months before the market is flooded with used cars. Now is the time to sell antiques and turn up your thermostat at the very least.”
Luebbering expressed concern about the elderly losing their homes or their electricity. Those with diabetes medicine will need to turn to neighbors to store their insulin in refrigerators. She observed several northern states have year-round gardens. Freeze-proof seeds are available, enabling every home to return to growing food again. She sees partnering potential with home improvement stores and the University of Missouri Extension Service for window planters and other growing resources.
Other programs exist that could begin locally. Luebbering recounted how Economic Security, the comparable organization to OACAC that serves Newton, Jasper, Barton, and McDonald counties, has a program reimbursing mileage that doesn’t have to be reported as income. That would benefit employers and enable people who have sold their cars to still get to work. There is also movement in the industrial sector that may help with childcare costs, enabling some people to work full-time who have not had that option.
Tightening the economy will inevitably have a ripple effect. Luebbering envisioned a lack of disposable income impacting luxuries like coffee shop purchases. She urged people to become engaged before the crisis arrives.
“Our grandparents knew what it was like to be cold and hungry during the Depression,” she said. “Their children knew what it was like to be cold, but never hungry. Now their kids are just concerned about being entertained. At the end of the day, we need leaders with critical thinking skills who know public funding is not a bottomless pit. You’ve got to work with people locally you don’t like. If you don’t have that in you, you’ve got to get out of your seat and give it to someone else.
“We must think strategically. Living in your car is better than living under a bridge. We live in a place that has benefited from people making good strategic choices. Now is the time to help the least of these to keep alive. We’re all in this together. When we find solutions, we’ll let you in on it,” she added.