PROP offers support in tough times

Bob Vickers has had a ringside seat to see the effects the recession has had on area families.
Vickers, the housing director for the Pettis County Community Partnership and coordinator for Putting Roofs Over People, or PROP, assumed his duties in the fall of 2008, just as waves of layoffs and an explosive housing market began to signal the beginning of what remains an uncertain economic future.

A man of faith who isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, Vickers said PROP — a coalition of three dozen social service agencies, businesses and charitable organizations — has seen a300 percent increase in demand for services in the last two years. Vickers said by his own count, about 1,100 jobs have been lost in the area since the recession began.

PROP offers rental and some limited mortgage assistance to people who are at least 30 days behind on payments and make up to 50 percent of the poverty level in income, but Vickers said, given current funding sources, PROP is only able to help about 10 percent of those who apply.

“The bulk of our rental assistance is paid through grants. With the venture grant we received from the United Way last year, we were able to fill some of the gaps. It is hard to find money for the incidentals,” Vickers said. PROP is in its second year as a Sedalia-Pettis County United Way agency.

PROP received $5,000 last year, with the money going to help about 100 families, and has been awarded another $5,000 for the coming year. Vickers said the “incidentals” range from diapers or basic household goods to helping someone get a copy of a child’s birth certificate to qualify for state assistance or other programs.

Though the cost is small, such documents can be key pieces to help prevent a family from losing a home or in helping get it back on its feet.

“We can only do it because of the United Way,” Vickers said.

Vickers said this year’s homeless count found that on any given day there are 100 homeless people in Sedalia, with one-third of them children. He said PROP takes an average of 164 applications for assistance the first week of every month. The group received 100 requests in just the first three days of September.

“There are some hopeful signs. We have seen a few people get back to work, but we continue to see more and more requests for assistance, and to be honest, it looks like things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better,” Vickers said.

Vickers said he understands the stereotype of the homeless as “drug addicts looking for a fix or someone who is just lazy and should just go get a job.”

“There is some of that, but what we really see are families. We see professional people. We see educated people. We see people who three years ago were working and taking care of their families and now are living month to month trying to figure out how they are going to make it,” Vickers said.

Though demand for services has increased, Vickers remains hopeful and says PROP and other social service agencies have “got a lot better at meeting those needs.”

“This community has been incredible at responding to meet the need,” Vickers said.

PROP has an open community meeting the fourth Monday of each month. For more information on PROP, visit the Pettis County Community Partnership at 515 S. Kentucky Ave., or call 827-0560.

Letters of praise to PROP

Here’s a selection of thank you cards received by Putting Roofs Over People. Names have been withheld upon request.

“I want to thank you from deep in my heart for the opportunity you have given to me to get back on my feet.  After losing my wife, trying to get back into the job market and trying to start over from scratch at 57 — it just isn’t very easy. For the first time in my life I am on my own, in a place of my own, making a fresh start, thanks to you. This is a gift I will never forget.”

“Thank you so much for helping our family out. I was laid off from my job without notice and I have three boys. I have been without any income for one month now and I had no idea what we were going to do.”

“I would like to thank you on behalf of me and my family for the help we received from this organization. I don’t know if we would have had a leg to stand on if it hadn’t been for PROP, or a place to stay for that matter. We fell on rough times this year and things are starting to look up. As my dad said, ‘We ain’t out of the woods yet, but we can see the light.’ What you have done for us is incredible, truly. Without your help we wouldn’t have made an arrangement with our landlord, and I don’t know where we would be.”