Editor's note: Corrected 12 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Recent economic data from the Docking Institute of Public Affairs showed that Ellis County had the highest poverty rate in the region at 18%.
Another 23% were classified as Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, or ALICE. These households are above the federal poverty level but cannot afford the basic cost of living in their county. They do not qualify for public assistance.
Combined, that equals 41% or more than 4 out of 10 Ellis County residents who are struggling financially.
Erica Berges, director of the United Way of Ellis County, said the ALICE families are employed, sometimes working multiple jobs, but are not making enough to make ends meet.
The median household income for Ellis County is $59,665. According to the data from United for ALICE, the survival budget for a family with two adults and two children, with the children in child care, is $67,164. That works out to be $33.58 per hour or $16.79 per hour for each adult, with both adults working full time.
The Kansas minimum wage is $7.25 for non-tipped employees.
Hays is a retail hub, and many of those jobs do not pay high wages. Even entry-level positions in education and health care often do not pay high enough wages to meet a survival budget.
Forty-six percent of households with workers who are nursing assistants and 42% of households who are teaching assistants are ALICE households.
“It’s pretty easy to comment, ‘Oh, they just need to go find a higher paying job,’” Bergers said. “If you don’t have a college degree, your options are limited. You want to better yourself and get a college degree, but how are you going to afford that? How are you going to find time to do that if you’re working multiple jobs to make ends meet.”
The population with the highest percentage of households in poverty or under the ALICE threshold are single mothers at 73%.
The next most affected group is households headed by someone 25 and younger. Sixty-nine percent of those households are affected. Students might work retail or food services jobs to accommodate their school schedules, but those are typically lower-paying jobs.
The third most affected group is senior citizens, with 48% of households affected.
Although Social Security lifts many of these households above the federal poverty level, they still don’t have enough income to satisfy a survival budget.
Berges also said some of the figures used in the Docking study seemed low, including $458 per month for rent.
Apartments.com listed the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Hays as $611. Zillow listed the median rent at $800.
Berges said some of the housing in Hays is liveable, but the apartments and homes are not in the best shape.
Hays does not have a rental inspection program, although it has been discussed in years past.
Macey Pfeifer, director of First Call for Help, said her agency has seen increased demand for housing assistance. First Call for Help also recently received a grant from Union Pacific to help people with deposits and the first month’s rent. She said demand for that assistance has also been high.
First Call for Help also provides utility assistance, and Pfeifer said demand also increased in October. She said there was an increase in utility shutoffs before Midwest Energy initiated its Cold Weather Rule, which prohibits utility disconnection during the winter.
Pfeifer said requests for assistance usually increase again in the spring, with some people owing $1,000 or more.
First Call for Help has a client whose utilities have been shut off for more than a year, Pfeifer said. She’s been using a garden hose from a neighbor.
“Everything adds up, and the money doesn’t go very far,” Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer said she thought the increase in assistance has been driven largely by inflation.
“The hourly wage people are receiving is not reflecting the increases they see around them,” she said. “Normal places do a 3% increase, but with everything going up way more than 3%, it’s hard.”
During a recent city commission meeting, Hays City Commissioner Reese Barrick urged local businesses to increase their wages.
“The reality is it would take to get all of Hays outside of poverty and not always struggling week to week and month to month, would people with jobs making $25 an hour,” he said.
He added, “We wouldn’t have to have all of these [nonprofit] organizations if we were able to pay people enough so they were outside of the risk zone every month. …
“If we want a community where everyone can participate and put money back into the community by shopping everywhere, then we have to pay people enough so they can participate. We can take care of the poverty level. It’s really a wage thing.”
The most recent available data is from 2022, prior to record-setting inflation driving up costs, especially food costs.
According to the USDA, food prices have increased about 7.3% since 2022.
"Look at the budget," Berges said. "They are paying $1,300. That's probably three meals a day. They're cutting out a meal. They have to cut that expense. With transportation, they might own two carts. They need to probably sell one.
"Those are the decisions those families are probably having to make."
Hays has public transportation through the ACCESS program. However, there is no fixed route for that service, which makes it difficult for workers to rely on it to travel back and forth to work, she said.
Berges said a working adult may be one flat tire or car breakdown away from a crisis. If they can't get to work, they can get fired, Berges said.
United Way of Kansas is trying to lobby the legislature on behalf of the ALICE households to bring more state resources to bear.
"People in poverty, they have more access to federal and state resources—food stamps, SNAP, WIC, Section 8," she said. "The poverty level for two adults and two children is $31,000, so if you make just slightly over, you don't qualify for any of that, yet you still need this help."
Berges said some of the United Way partner agencies help families who are above the poverty line, but they can only do so much with their limited funds, she said.
"It's really those ALICE households who are feeling the pinch because the poverty line has not changed, yet the cost of everything is going up," she said.
United Way receives many calls for rent and utility assistance. Although United Way doesn't offer direct assistance, it refers people to agencies that do.
"People always need a place to stay, and obviously, they always need heat or water or electricity," she said. "Whereas the food, maybe they can get by."
"One thing with this community is that there are still gaps, but there are good resources in food pantries," Berges said.
She said a need that is not being met is health care, including dental. United Way of Kansas is advocating for Medicaid expansion in its United for Alice campaign.
"If you don't get health care, that can snowball into something bigger, and that can affect the hospital and the clinics," Berges said.
Berges said she hopes the data opens some community members' eyes.
"A lot of people who I work with, I don't think we can relate unless we know someone personally who is going through something like that. You take that for granted," Berges said.
Anyone needing assistance can call 211 to access United Way’s statewide referral system. They can also download the United Ways Ellis County Community Resources Directory app on Apple or Android devices or CLICK HERE.
You can contact First Call for Help at 785-623-2800 or visit its office from 8 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at 607 E. 13th St., Hays.