INDIANAPOLIS — The growing inflation is wiping out family budgets left and right as the cost of gas, food and housing skyrockets.
“It’s just total chaos. Just totally out of control right now,” said Josh Tobey.
Tobey is a construction worker and a father to 13 kids. He just welcomed a new baby boy this week.
Despite having a stable job, he said his family is barely getting by.
“With a big family like I have, we’re drowning,” he said. “I put bills in a hat and pull whoever I can pay that month.”
Just recently, he went to the grocery store and said he paid more than double what he did a year ago.
“With the coupons I try to do and everything, it’s cheaper to go to McDonalds or get a $5 pizza than make a meal at the house,” Tobey said.
That’s why the Shepherd Community Center on the near east side of Indianapolis is stepping in to help, knowing low-income Hoosiers are struggling the most.
“Inflation really hits low-income families the hardest and so this community that we are in here, that’s who it is hitting the hardest,” said Andrew Green, assistant executive director at the Shepherd Community Center.
The center works to break the cycle of poverty on the near east side by working with families and identifying what resources are needed.
Green said they spend about $6,000 to $8,000 a month on items for families, includes hygiene products that can’t be bought with SNAP benefits.
They are also hosting a summer program for kids during the day.
“We want to come alongside them and create some stability for families the best that we can,” Green said.
At the same, Green worries about the future impact this inflation could have on the community.
“We are talking about really significant challenges and really difficult long-term problems that are being created,” he said.
In meantime, low-income families are left feeling the pinch, not sure how much more their budgets can absorb.
“In one week, I’ve put over $200 in the gas tank and it’s not manageable,” said Tyeisha Wells, who is a mother to four kids.
But like many, she continues to take it one day at a time. “Just doing the best you can with what you do have and making it work,” Wells said. “We’ll get through this one way or another.”
If you are interested in volunteering or donating to Shepherd Community Center, you can find more information on their website.