Ever since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began, things haven’t quite been the same. After Florida’s lockdown in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, many people never fully recovered.

Businesses were shuttered, lives were forever changed, and long lines at local food drives became more and more common. In 2023, while the financial difficulties are not evenly spread across West Volusia, costs have continued to escalate with no sign of stopping, and many people are still hurting, including those organizations devoted to helping those in need.

“We got hit hard during COVID,” Waylan Niece told The Beacon.

Niece is the chief operating officer for The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia. His work has him on the front lines of the organization’s efforts to curb housing insecurity, hunger and homelessness in DeLand and the greater West Volusia area.

Niece talked about how things have changed through COVID until now.

“People were needing left and right, and money was flowing out from the government like it’s no one’s business,” he said. “That was a pretty hectic time, and it seemed like it leveled out to a norm in 2022 and in 2023, but it appears that it is ramping up again at a higher level, back to COVID numbers. It went up, it leveled out, and now it’s going up again.”

In Volusia County, according to a report by the Volusia/Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless, the number of people experiencing homelessness has jumped by 18 percent since 2022. And that report represents only a rough estimate, considering it likely doesn’t count individuals living in hard-to-reach areas, like the woods, or people experiencing less-visible housing insecurity, like living in motels or with friends.

What’s the cause? Niece blames the continued rising costs of necessities straining people’s wallets.

“It’s primarily their rent that has gone up,” he said, “and their utilities have gone up to the point they can no longer afford to live without assistance.”

That’s what Dot Bradley has observed in Volusia County’s most populous town, too. She’s the program director for New Hope Human Services, the philanthropic arm of New Hope Baptist Church in Deltona.

Bradley said her organization’s giving has increased, but it still feels like they’re unable to do enough.

“You’re glad you’re able to help,” she said, “but when you look back and see, it’s like, ‘Wow, what’s going on in this world?’”

New Hope Human Services hosts monthly food drives, and Bradley has seen an uptick in the number of families coming by. Earlier this month, the organization hosted its annual Hope Fest, and was able to give bags of food to 170 households.

The Neighborhood Center has started doing monthly food drives, also, “to increase the amount of food that’s going into households’ hands,” Niece said.

“It’s just rough all the way around,” he added.

What are people saying?

In response to questions asked by The Beacon on social media, West Volusia residents sounded off about the problems they’ve faced in the past year.

“I think it’s safe to say everyone feels the weight of the poor economy right now. Groceries are more expensive. Energy prices are soaring (heat and air). I hear a lot of people are having to surrender pets because they can’t afford them,” Deltona resident Jissell Ballard said. “It is difficult and sometimes feels overwhelming.”

Ballard’s frustrations about energy prices were a common complaint among many social-media commenters. Electricity and water are a must, and when bills skyrocket, more and more people have to decide which bill needs to be paid on time — or at all.

Another common gripe was gasoline prices. While not as expensive as they were at peaks earlier this year and last year, an average commute is still far from cheap.

“Insurance in FL is a mess and expensive, inflation for food, gas, utilities are out of sight,” Deltona residents Ron and Cindy Brace commented. “I only have to take care of myself, but I can’t imagine what it must be like to have a mortgage, car payment and support a couple of children.”

One Deltona resident, Morghann Nya, said this year has been especially difficult, thanks to the compounding costs of everyday necessities and medical bills.

This year, her family is opting to go without a Thanksgiving dinner of their own. Nya’s husband is working late, her daughter’s going to her boyfriend’s house, and Nya’s own health isn’t in the best place to be eating copious amounts of Thanksgiving food.

“It makes me sad,” she said, “because this is the first year we haven’t cooked, but it’s not a necessity to make a bunch of food that might go to waste.”

Nya works as a self-employed photographer for her own company, Morgan Nya Photography LLC, and she understands her work isn’t the kind of thing people spend money on when money is tight. But because of that, she said, her family members are feeling the squeeze of higher utility bills, higher medical copays and higher grocery costs.

“It’s just something that I never thought we’d see, and now that it’s hit everyone pretty rough, it’s scary to think of the future,” Nya said.

The financial woes are not universal. While some are in the worst financial situation they’ve experienced, many corporations are seeing record profits and others are making do.

Another Volusia County resident, who preferred to not be identified, recognized their situation is unlike that of many others.

“Our insurance rates haven’t increased significantly,” they shared with The Beacon. “Other bills (utilities, food, etc.) have increased, but not enough to have that much of an impact.”

Like many people across Florida, they received a raise this year, and it was the largest they had ever received in 27 years of employment with the State of Florida. While some people received large raises, others received adjustments to their incomes that brought them in line with state-mandated increases to the minimum wage.

But as the holiday season and the end of 2023 approach, some people are just hoping for a change.

Deltona resident Laura Jasse has dealt with high utility bills and problems with the company she rents her dwelling from — all on top of a loaf of bread being so expensive.

Jasse summed up the way many people are feeling.

“So yeah,” she commented, “this year really sucks.”

Haves and have-nots

Worsening poverty has not affected everyone in 2023, especially not the corporations selling goods and services that have gotten more expensive for consumers.

Companies like Amazon, Google, Moderna and many others have dealt with rising production costs by hiking prices to ensure they still score a profit — and many have seen record profits.

Food companies like Cal-Maine Foods and Kraft-Heinz, according to a report by Time Magazine, have seen their profits increase by as much as more than 700 percent.

According to data from Forbes, there are roughly 500 more billionaires in the world — 2,640 — than there were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Noah Hertz, with assistance from Beacon reporter Carmen Cruz