State of Kansas Archives: on Welfare & Poverty

Carl Brewer: Grew up in daily, anxious poverty

Jake LaTurner: Work requirements and drug testing for welfare recipients

Fight for Work Requirements and Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients: Welfare has robbed many individuals of the dignity that comes with hard work. Those who fall on hard times deserve a hand up, not a hand out. I will be at the forefront of this fight in the US Senate, just like I was here in Kansas.

Patrick Wiesner: Change housing policy to avoid taking on more debt

Patrick is easy to get to know. Within minutes after he first meets his clients, they are comfortable enough with him to talk about mistakes they made and the financial trouble they are in.

Roger Marshall: Work requirement for able-bodied adults on food stamps

Sam Brownback: Required work/training improves quality of life

Adam Hamilton: His church is largest source of donated food in KC

A: I'm a fifth-generation Kansan. My great-great-grandparents settled in Dickinson County 147 years ago, in a little town called Hope. 36 years ago, my wife LaVon and I started a church with four people and a dream. Today it's the largest United Methodist church in the country, and its members are equal parts Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

Together we've become the largest source of donated food in Kansas City after the regional food bank and the area's largest sponsor of blood drives. We've given away thousands of beds to children who didn't have one, funded a mobile dental clinic that treats 2,700 kids a year at their schools, and invested millions of dollars in the lowest-income elementary schools in the area.

Adam Hamilton: 10,000 hungry children in KS lost SNAP benefits due to Trump

A: Decency. But decency isn't just words, it's how we treat each other. Over 10,000 hungry children in Kansas have lost their SNAP benefits thanks to One Big Ugly Bill. And tens of thousands of Kansans have lost their health coverage since January 2025. I've spent my life with families during some of their hardest moments, and I know how frightening it is when people can't afford the care they need or can't find it close to home. Kansas leads the nation in rural hospitals at risk of closing, and cuts from Washington are only going to make it worse. One woman told me her health insurance runs nearly $2,500 a month, more than her house payment, so had to go without. That's unacceptable and has to change.