This post is part of a series highlighting Community Action’s response across Missouri to COVID-19.

As COVID-19 emerged in Missouri, unemployment spiked, and many people in the Kansas City metro area lost the means to pay their bills and feed their children. Seeing these needs, Community Action Agency of Greater Kansas City developed an online emergency services portal for its customers to apply for rent and utility assistance as in-person appointments came to a halt.

During the first full month of COVID-19, CAAGKC customers needed food and toiletries, mainly cleaning supplies and diapers. The agency partnered with several non-profits and organizations around Kansas City to meet these needs. CAAGKC continued to focus on community members’ basic needs—food, toiletries, utilities, and housing—during the second full month of the pandemic. The agency developed partnerships with area organizations to address the increasing needs beyond its food and toiletry pantries.

CAAGKC streamlined its processes so customers could apply for services without leaving their homes. All business was conducted online or by phone. Some events were held drive-through style, so the agency staff and customers could adhere to social distancing guidelines. At the same time, the agency put other programs and services on hold due to an inability to meet in person and enter customers’ homes.

Adapting these programs allowed the agency to focus resources on other initiatives. CAAGKC provided 32 of its University Academy families with $100 gift cards for food and groceries. The agency’s Youth Services Department addressed specific needs of PAVE The Way participants—an after-school and summer program that helps high school students develop leadership skills and explore career options. CAAGKC developed partnerships with several drive-through food distribution sites around the Kansas City metro.

CAAGKC creatively used existing financial resources and partnerships to address customer needs. The agency provided 60 furloughed airport employees and 44 furloughed Zona Rosa employees with up to $100 for their families. It also provided more than $50,000 in additional funding for pantries and established a new partnership with Platte Senior Center to deliver care packages to home-bound seniors.

In collaboration with Total Man Community Development Corporation, CAAGKC provided up to $100 cash assistance per family to 50 households. The agency delivered 180 boxes of food to seniors in their apartments in collaboration with Palestine Senior Center and worked with Truman Medical Center Mobile Market to provide families with fresh fruit and vegetables. CAAGKC helped residents with their rent and utility bills and assisted with evictions of up to three months, and worked with school districts to address families’ needs.

An innovative practice CAAGKC endeavored during the pandemic was the digitization of rental and utility assistance procedures. Customer applications and service delivery were handled by phone or online with a secure portal through which private, sensitive customer information could be sent.

Many people who previously didn’t meet eligibility requirements for CAAGKC’s services are affected by COVID-19’s economic impact in unexpected ways. CAAGKC is aware of the challenges these individuals and families face and continues to ensure individuals and families receive uninterrupted services during these unsure, untested, and certainly trying times.

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