Tuesday, May. 20, 2008

Family struggles to put food on the table, gas in the tank

Editor’s note: This is the third story in a three-part series examining the state of the economy and how national issues affect area residents and businesses.

The decisions are the worst part.

Dan Godt lives a life of trying to get by, hoping he’ll have enough money for the next day. He’s not able to think much beyond that. He has to decide what’s worth his money and what’s not — a struggle of existence that can be hard on one’s ego.

“We go to the store and count dollars and taxes to make sure we have enough. That’s one of the most embarrassing things there is, to go up and not have enough at the register,” Godt said. “It’s like a slap in the face not having enough.”

At 26 years old, Godt doesn’t own a credit card but already has filed for bankruptcy.

He has two sons with an ex-girlfriend and pays more than $400 each month to child support. His financial situation always has been difficult, but with gas nearing $4 a gallon and grocery prices up across the board, it’s bordering on impossible.

Even when Godt and his wife were bringing in two incomes, it wasn’t enough. Now he’s unemployed, and the strain has been put on her.

“We’re literally living check to check,” he said.

Godt is part of a lower working class that is experiencing the slippery slope of a national trend that has made its way into the Heartland. Soaring gas prices, a slow housing market and mounting grocery and utilities bills has made it difficult for families of all classes to make ends meet across Olathe.

After utility bills, groceries are not always an option. Godt sometimes has to go to Catholic Charities for food. For the last six months, he hasn’t gone on a grocery trip. Instead, he buys only for each day’s meals.

“There’s always something that needs to be needed,” he said.

Gas prices also play a major role. The amount of gas in the tank often determines Godt’s plans for the week. His wife works in Lenexa, and they pay about $50 at the pump each week and try to make up the difference by cutting back on food and making minimum payments on bills until they have to face a large payment. He arranges his school schedule with taking her to work and picking her up at the end of the day. He said that if he doesn’t have the gas to go, he’ll skip classes.

For eight years and until a few weeks ago, Godt had been working as a driver for different companies, most recently Culligan. Now that he’s lost his job, he’s gone back to the Step Up program. He is scheduled to graduate in May 2009, and he hopes to go to Johnson County Community College to take an automotive class.

When he’s not in school, he spends his time looking for work through a temp agency and trying to get unemployment.

The uncertainty and the bills forced him to make the worst decision he’s had to make about two years ago. One day in 2006, he decided he had to pawn his grandfather’s rifles. They were the only things he had left of his grandfather, a man he said was never the type to say “I love you” until the week he died.

He said the $25 he got for the guns went straight into the gas tank. During that period, Godt was waking up nauseated, and he often vomited to start the day. He said there was no time when money wasn’t on his mind.

“It’s always there, no matter what you’re doing,” he said. “There’s not really much more to it than, well, you think about it because there’s no other choice. It’s deciding how you live and what you do. How can I ignore that?”

His dream is to be able to support the kids comfortably and get his wife back into college. He’s positive it’s going to happen, but he’s not sure if he can get there before the kids are 18. In fact, he said he doubts much will change in the next five to 10 years, but that it’s not in his makeup to simply quit.

“My mindset is that even if I do something and I know that bad can come from it, as long as I know it’s something I did put my mind into, then I know it’s worth it,” Godt said.

And then there are the decisions. Around every turn, there’s one to be made. Last week, the decision was changing his car’s oil or putting gas in the tank. He chose the oil.

“There’s just a lot of cutbacks, and that’s the worst part: There are no luxuries. We can’t go out and do things,” Godt said. “It’s literally about the necessities.”

* * * * *

Shirley Kelso takes exception to the assumption that “charity” implies lack of effort.

Kelso is the program manager at Olathe Emergency Assistance, a Catholic charity that helps people in need.

Most of the people who come in to the charity are low income, she said, and most are employed or actively seeking employment.

“These are not people living off unemployment, waiting for someone to pay their bills,” she said. “Some are construction workers who were making good wages — $20, $25 an hour — who haven’t been able to work because there’s not construction going on.”

And that’s the difference that Kelso and others like her have seen recently during the economic slowdown: It’s affecting everyone.

The charity has helped residents who had $80,000 to $100,000 incomes and are trying to adjust to being laid off. They’re people who never have had to ask for help.

“They don’t know how to cut back with wants versus needs,” Kelso said. “It’s hard for them to even come up with a plan. All of us have had to do a lot of teaching.”

It’s tough for that demographic to ask for help. Some are ashamed. Others are downright indignant. They’ve had people walk in, get angry and then stomp out. Most, though, appreciate the help.

“It doesn’t make a difference if you make $90,000 or not. You notice it when you’re filling up at the pump,” she said. “Then we have folks who have to choose between their gas service, electricity, filling their cars up with gas or going to the grocery store — and that’s a tough choice to make.”

The center had 750 applications in April. Five years ago, she said, 300 applications would have been considered a busy month. But right now, gas prices and grocery bills are hitting home with almost about everyone. There are several young families, people struggling to pay $4 for a gallon of milk with three school-age children who want milk at every meal.

Kelso’s organization shares its building at 333 E. Poplar St. with the Catholic Charities center. Both are open to anyone in the public, no matter their religious affiliation.

Just inside the front door, a wall of bread greets visitors, and a food pantry in the back of the building resembles a small grocery store. Those in need can pick up necessities from the organization with a little paperwork and a sign-in sheet.

The food cupboard is stocked now, but Bob Lippold, volunteer manager of the pantry, said that soon will change. With school ending, food drives won’t take place as frequently until August. Also, families whose children are on reduced-fee or free lunch programs will have to find other means to feed their children.

“We’ve got to keep on it,” Lippold said. “We can’t stop because if we stop, where do people go?”

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