News
William T. Kemper Foundation awards $10,000 to Phoenix Family
The William T. Kemper Foundation recently awarded $10,000 to Phoenix Family to support its Emergency Assistance Program.
Phoenix Family's Emergency Assitance Program The program is offered at 28 low-income housing communities in Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Phoenix Family’s Emergency Assistance Program helps participants with those emergency costs that might make the difference between a family going hungry or homeless and the family surviving and stabilizing. Over the past nine months, there has been a shift in those seeking help. Now, almost half of the requests are from people who have lost their jobs or had their hours significantly reduced. Most worked in sectors hardest hit by the recession, including retail, manufacturing and leisure/ hospitality. Since many of these jobs pay minimum wage, the shift in the economy has caught the majority of the residents unprepared. For them, a change in their financial situation is felt almost immediately. Additionally, over the past year, requests for assistance have tripled and in 2009, the program helped 529 people remain in their homes.
