This one is simple and hard at the same time. Addison Hearrin from 4 Good Community sits down and describes what it looks like when a city’s costs go up faster than its paychecks. Her team’s mission: spread hope, love, and light. Kids 4 Good Center. The 4 Good on the Go bus. Pop-ups with partners when a family needs socks, bedding, school supplies, or even a space heater. A new program, Hope 4 Good, shipping toys to kids facing critical illness because a little joy matters when everything else is heavy.

Then we get to the sentence I keep hearing around town: “We paid the bills, and there’s nothing left for food.” That’s the pressure point. Addison is seeing more messages every week: double-income homes that “did everything right,” seniors on fixed incomes, parents who can’t stretch one more dollar. SNAP timing makes the hole deeper. Nonprofits are built to move resources; they aren’t banks. They can’t pay everyone’s light bill. They can hand out what they have, and lately that looks like two semis full of chips when what people need is dinner. Staff and volunteers are literally buying staples out of their own pockets. That’s the gap.

We talk through what still works: getting new clothing, household basics, furniture for families starting over or recovering from disaster; running the bus into neighborhoods; partnering with preschools, churches, CASA, Salvation Army/Toys for Tots; calling local stores for discounts because shelves empty fast. The request is concrete: shelf-stable food, funds for food, and partnerships to move both where they’re needed… now.

And to drive it home, we hand the mic to our neighbors. Johanna, choosing between the car payment and the electric bill. Fran and her husband, in a 900-square-foot home, rebuilt with efficient appliances and still seeing $400–$600 bills. Julie’s dad, a senior who shut down rooms and still can’t afford comfortable temps. An anonymous parent in a family of eight is watching a projected 48% usage jump when nothing has changed. Courtney, disconnected after investing in efficiency upgrades that never moved the number. We end with Brittni, who came home to a dark house and a four-figure demand to turn it back on.

If you can help, help. If you need help, ask. addison@4goodcommunity.org. The site is 4goodcommunity.org. Partnerships if you have reach. Stories, if you have one, because we are in this together.