KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Federal money flowed to senior-services programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a lot of those dollars are disappearing now.
That leaves organizations that provide Meals on Wheels, home-repair and -modification programs for older adults, and things like rides to doctor’s appointments scrambling for funding amid a growing need.
"The situation for senior-services funding is dire," Janet Baker, executive director of the Kansas City Shepherd's Center, said. "In reality, across the country and here in Kansas City, and I can give the data to support it, only about 1% of philanthropic funding is allocated to senior services. That should never be the case, but it is, so there has to be some other form of sustainable public funding to support senior services."
Missouri law allows counties to create a senior citizens’ services tax, but a modest property tax of no more than 5¢ per $100 of assessed value is the only funding mechanism specified.
Fifty-five Missouri counties have enacted senior tax levies — including Clay, Platte, Ray, Bates and Henry counties — but Jackson County has not. That could change if voters approve Question 1 on Nov. 5
Against a backdrop of anger over Jackson County’s handling of the 2023 property reassessment, any property-tax increase might be a tough sell.
"If we could have chosen another mechanism, we would have," Baker said. "But it’s so small, we’re talking about a nickel on every $100 of assessed property value ... for the (Kansas City-area) county that has the highest number of older adults, twice as many older adults living in poverty than the national average and with the fastest-growing population that does not have public funding to support seniors."
Sabrina Wiltz has been a volunteer driver with Meals on Wheels for seven years. She started in Virginia, but continued that work with the Shepherd’s Center after moving to Kansas City.
It’s “the joy that the seniors receiving meals have, seeing their faces every day” that keeps her involved.
“Kansas City Shepherd's Center is actually the organization that brought Meals on Wheels to Kansas City in 1972 right here in this kitchen,” Baker said. “We’ve been providing a daily hot meal and a well check, a friendly visit, every day since.”
Joe Padilla, a 93-year-old who lives alone in the West Plaza area, is grateful that they do. He relies on Meals on Wheels and volunteers like Wiltz.
"I’d be lost," he said. "It’s real handy. I depend on them."
Padilla’s wife of 64 years, Rose, died four years ago — she was the cook in the family — and he had to give up driving in recent years as well.
Padilla is a proud former U.S. Marine and remains active with veteran groups thanks to friends who give him occasional rides, but the Meals on Wheels volunteers have become close friends and a daily reprieve from loneliness.
"All of them, they come around, I’m pretty well acquainted with them," Padilla said.
He and Wiltz talked Wednesday about his daily walk from the Country Club Plaza to State Line Road and back and a visit from his son in the coming weeks.
"I have several of the stops that I make that the people actually know what time I’m coming and look forward to seeing me,” she said. “I’m the same way. I look forward to seeing them on a daily basis, keeping in touch.”
Baker said the Shepherd’s Center, one of several Meals on Wheels providers in the Kansas City area, delivers daily meals to around 800 older adults, including 200 hot meals and 600 meal frozen meals, but it’s not nearly enough.
“We have the capacity, we have the infrastructure, we obviously have the knowledge — we’ve been doing this for 50-plus years — I could serve as many older adults as I had money to do,” Baker said. “But at this point, I’m literally having to tell people who call, ‘I can’t serve you,’ because the money is just drying up.”
Baker said approximately 20,000 adults in Kansas City over age 60 are food insecure.
“The reality is that Kansas City has a more-severe hunger problem than the national average — one in eight older adults are hungry,” she said. “I just don’t think that should ever be the case. So, if there were funds available, we would be able to serve more of those hungry older adults. ... If I had the money, I’d serve them all.”
The proposed property-tax increase would cost the owner of a $250,000 home an additional $23.75 in taxes each year, which is miniscule compared to property taxes for the county overall, schools, public libraries, cities and fire-protection districts.
“For that very meager investment, it will generate between $8 and $9 million a year to support the more than 50 senior-serving organizations that are trying to meet a growing need,” Baker said of Question 1.
While Jackson County put forth the tax question, the county would not control the funds, if approved.
The money would be put into a Senior Citizens’ Services Fund and a seven-member board of directors appointed by the legislature would dole out the money in community grants.
“If it could expand, that would be wonderful,” Witz said. “The amount of people that I’ve seen just in my short time here in this state that needs the meals, wants the meals — it needs to be expanded.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.