Thank you, Governor!

By John Sharp

“This should be transformational for south Kansas City,” is how Rachel Casey, executive director of the Community Assistance Council, described the impact of State Representative Anthony Ealy of Grandview, a member of the powerful House Budget Committee, securing $1 million in state funding for CAC in this fiscal year’s state budget that was recently signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson.

Ealy noted that throughout the recently adjourned 2024 session of the General Assembly that he worked with members of his own political party and reached across the aisle and forged relationships with members of the other political party to ensure he could get approval for needed funding for our area.  He also thanked the governor for recognizing the importance of such funding. 

Half of the $1 million appropriation was designated to expand CAC’s operations.  CAC is one of the few full service social service agencies actually based in south Kansas City and one of the largest providers of social services to low income southland families.

Casey said the bulk of that funding will go to keep people housed and fed with their lights on by expanding CAC’s emergency rent and utility assistance programs and its client-choice food pantry.

The other half was designated for a new building for CAC which is now housed in an aged and cramped building on the north end of the Ruskin High School campus with inadequate parking that Casey described as “just too small”.

Casey said CAC can now show other potential funders for a larger headquarters in the vicinity of its current leased building that the state is investing in the project and feels it has value which should make them feel more comfortable about investing in the project. 

She said she envisions CAC being the owner of a larger building and leasing some of the space not initially needed by CAC to other agencies that provide complimentary services.