Caring agency

As part of my subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) way of "developing an innovative, caring agency dedicated to being an influential leader in our communities" (Strategic Commitment 5) I make a point of variably harping on smokers to quit smoking and doing the best I can to support and encourage people who are trying or have ever had an inkling of trying. I'd like to make some partial claim to about four people at CMCA who have quit since I've been here. The most recent are always the most exciting but I was just notified that one of our long time employees, a die hard smoker mind you; the kind that has a bumper sticker that says "at least I can still smoke in my car," is about to celebrate her one year anniversary from smoking. I'm really excited for her and hope that it makes a difference in her life for her health and her checkbook. Another employee just got taken to lunch by a naysayer who bet that she couldn't quit for a year. I'm proud of all of our quitters and will continue to support those that have tried or might consider it. It took me many attempts before I was able to kick the habit back in 2000, and honestly I still stumble from time to time, but I feel so good about myself and protecting my family that I can't help but promote the effort. Cheers to all who have quit and for anybody that's trying, and for those that will succeed in 2010.

CMCA celebrates success

If you haven't seen our rotating story about Charita Henderson, check it out now! Charita was CMCA's Head Start Parent of the Year then moved on to be Missouri's parent of the year and the Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska) parent of the year. A couple of weeks ago she found out she is the 1st runner up national parent of the year. She has been heavily involved in the CMCA Head Start program and we are all so proud of her accomplishments and thankful for what she has brought to CMCA. Head Start and all of our programs have great success stories about individuals and families that have overcome barriers to achieve self-reliance and Charita is a great representative of all of those successes.

Surprise! Surprise! Poverty is going up!

The Census Bureau just released information that indicates that poverty has gone up since their last estimate and that DOES NOT INCLUDE THE EFFECT OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. Nearly 40 million Americans are reportedly struggling with the crises of poverty. When estimates include today's unemployment rate of 9.7%, our poverty rate shoots up to nearly 15%. Think about that. FIFTEEN PERCENT of our family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances are struggling. Even that number is suspect because the poor are often not captured in census data AND the federal poverty level does not reflect one's ability to meet their basic needs. While the federal government defines poverty for a family of four as household income less than $22,050, living wage calculators put that number at nearly double for a family to meet their basic needs.

Read more about the new estimates here.

Strategy Team 1 is trying to get somewhere

I dropped in on the Strategy Team meeting focusing on "engaging the community to assure that all people have their basic needs met" this morning and was energized by their excitement. For their next meeting they are planning to ride the Columbia Transit System to various destinations like a doctors office, Walmart, and work. Seem odd? Not really when you consider that one of their three year outcomes is that "Safe, affordable, convenient transportation is readily available." This little field trip/experiment will give them some firsthand knowledge about the convenience of Columbia's system. They started by trying to gather information about the system online. Check out www.gocolumbiamo.com to try this exercise yourself. After tracking down transit system info, they started figuring out routes. I consider myself a pretty smart guy but I had to wrestle with it to figure out how I'd get from my house to my office at CMCA. Anyway, the point here isn't to criticize our current system but to look for ways to support our community's efforts to get people where they need to go. There's been a lot of work done on this and we aren't trying to reinvent the wheel but I get the impression that we're gearing up to be part of that conversation.

never respond to the naysayers, it just stirs more conversation

You'll be pleased to know that CMCA will not be running the program at the transitional housing unit but rather Rainbow House as they have a very successful record with this type of program. I'm not sure how the failed attempt at renovating the Heibel March building is a reflection on how we operate programs as Heibel March was an NCCNA project for which CMCA served as the fiscal agent. As I entered the picture I was hoping to change the trajectory of that project but ultimately found that the struggles were more than CMCA or I could overcome. I am deeply regretful of that but will continue to look for opportunities to support and facilitate initiatives throughout the eight counties we serve. Honestly I haven't felt like I could speak out about much regarding NCCNA business with the Heibel March failure hanging over my head but I am feeling more and more certain of our success on the transitional housing project. I'm pretty sure we addressed the neighborhood as soon as we were able to nail down our intention for the property on 7th street and I won't apologize for holding off until we had a plan for our property. I do understand and appreciate your concerns about me and CMCA and hope that over time you will see that neither I nor our agency are the evil empire you portray. Community development work is painstaking, slow, and rife with failures. I'm fine with the criticism and believe it keeps public officials, including myself, on our feet. Please note however that responding to blogs and emails are not the only way to advocate for things in which we believe. In fact, there are many people in the community that have written off these forms of involvement for their anonymity and generally negative tone. I tend to think that whatever form of communication people use is fine with me but I generally spend my time speaking one on one with people that can help the cause. I'm usually spread pretty thin trying to keep a foot in eight counties and more than thirty-six communities (not to mention neighborhoods, factions, interest groups, and political parties) so if my lack of response over the 802 Wilkes issue deserves condemnation, I beg your forgiveness. As for the CPS decision about Field Elementary, I truly have no connection. As I mentioned earlier, I favor an early childhood center but I support CPS cost saving efforts to relocate the Bearfield Center. CPS does a good job running that program and I believe they will weigh safety and community interaction in their decision making process.

Darin Preis

-----Original message------
From: Mike Martin
To: The Village
Subject: Re: CMCA Transitional Housing/Bearfield to Field conversion

As Pat Fowler notes (and welcome to the neighborhood, btw) a "well run" youth transitional living program may well be a neighborhood and community asset.

I've seen little indication that either the program at Bearfield or CMCA's previous attempts at helping the North Central neighborhood -- i.e. the failed Corner/Heibel-March store renovation -- were or are well run.

What's more, ill omens of future fiascoes have pretty much dominated the debate around both programs.

Despite all the high-minded talk about better public communications (especially at the school district), neither CPS nor CMCA contacted the neighborhood association about either program until word got out and a couple of us complained. And some of the ideas that have been floated -- a "barbed wire" prison style fence around Field Elementary, for instance -- seem thoughtless and ill-considered at best.

Finally, though I'm pleased that Mr. Preis says -- "My opinion is that we need to continue moving out the negative (I support your efforts to out the tenants at 802 Wilkes) and in the positive (I support Mr. Ziv's efforts to build more dense, affordable cottages)" -- I'm wondering where the "we" is in all this. CMCA and Mr. Preis were wholly absent from commentary or support on either of those issues, which have mostly relied on the dogged persistence of one or two people.

(With all the delays and the new banking rules since the big financial meltdown, Mr. Ziv may not be able to build his cottages after all, as I understand it).

So much for all that support.

Mike

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 1:08 PM
Subject: RE: CMCA Transitional Housing/Bearfield to Field conversion

I am a new homeowner in North Central, having just arrived on N. 6th St last week. While I know the transitional living program proposal and the neighborhood concerns have several layers, I have a positive opinion of well run youth transitional living programs. I have visited SOL house, discussed community volunteering with the kids there, placed service-learning students there, and consider that program a neighborhood and community asset. The Bearfield to Field conversion is a separate issue and, like each of you, I'll do my part to speak to the school representatives I know about the need to include us in the conversation earlier rather than later.

I look forward to participating in community discussion as a neighbor.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Darin Preis"
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 12:41 PM
Subject: RE: CMCA Transitional Housing/Bearfield to Field conversion

Understood. Thanks Mike. From my point of view we're not "moving at risk populations into the neighborhood" but rather creating a positive place for those that are already there. Ideally, our transitional housing project will not only remove the negative element but add a positive element that will give back to the neighborhood as has been the case with the SOL house. Our Boone County office is in that neighborhood and I'm sure you'll agree that there is no shortage of negative influences there now. My opinion is that we need to continue moving out the negative (I support your efforts to out the tenants at 802 Wilkes) and in the positive (I support Mr. Ziv's efforts to build more dense, affordable cottages). I would categorize our transitional housing for homeless youth as one of the positive elements we need to bring in.

Darin


-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:19 AM
From: Mike Martin
To: Darin Preis;
Subject: CMCA Transitional Housing/Bearfield to Field conversion

In the July 15th email below to Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) director Darin Preis, Linda Rootes wrote, "Some of the bloggers have tried to draw links between your project and the CPS programs for 'troubled' youths." Mr. Preis then responded, also below: "For the record, there is no connection whatsoever between CMCA and any discussions regarding Field Elementary as the relocated facility for the Bearfield School. Personally I will be disappointed if CPS doesn't use Field as an early childhood center as previously discussed..."

I assume Linda meant the set of posts on the Village listserv that begin http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nccna/message/1140

If so, she is not being accurate. No one tried to link CMCA to the relocation of Bearfield School. For my part, however, I did point out that it's over the top for social service agencies to continue moving so many "at risk" populations into one neighborhood, especially in such close proximity to "problem" houses like 802 Wilkes, where drug dealing, guns, and arrest warrants are the rule of the day. I also said the practice smacks of segregation, and I stand by that assertion. I'm shocked there's so little discussion about any of these critical issues and what discussion there is usually comes after someone pitches a bitch. It seems cavalier and short-sighted on the parts of these agencies, but given this city's unfortunate history with segregated neighborhoods and blithely-executed paternalism -- things I had never experienced before moving here -- not particularly surprising.

Mike

--- Original Message -----
From: Darin Preis
To: Linda Rootes
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:26 AM
Subject: RE: CMCA Transitional Housing

Thanks Linda. Dianna Moore, Economic Development Director, is the lead on this project. She is not available on August 11 but I could be available to review our progress and answer questions if you all feel like you need to know sooner than later considering any advocacy NCCNA might do regarding Field Elementary. I'll tentatively hold August 11 on my calendar if someone could confirm that you'd like me there on that date.

For the record, there is no connection whatsoever between CMCA and any discussions regarding Field Elementary as the relocated facility for the Bearfield School. Personally I will be disappointed if CPS doesn't use Field as an early childhood center as previously discussed, but I understand the circumstances under which this is being reviewed.

Darin

From: Linda Rootes [mailto:lrootes@mchsi.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 6:17 PM
To: Darin Preis
Subject: Re: CMCA Transitional Housing

Darin,
Good to hear that things are progressing. We meet on the second Tuesday, so that was last night! Our next meeting will be on Tues, August 11, at 6:30 in the Cougar Room of Dulany Hall at Columbia College. We are inviting some folks to share with us about the Bearfield School program that may be moved to Field School. Some of the bloggers have tried to draw links between your project and the CPS programs for "troubled" youths. Accurate information will be helpful going forward.

Let me know if the date works for you. I look forward to your visit.

Linda

----- Original Message -----
From: Darin Preis
To: Linda Rootes
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 10:46 AM
Subject: CMCA Transitional Housing

Hi Linda,
I hope you're having a great summer. Dianna and I would like to give an update on our progress on the transitional housing project to the NCCNA. Can you tell us who we should talk to about getting on the agenda for a future meeting? How frequently do you meet? We'd only need 10 or 15 minutes plus time for questions. We are making progress and I just want to keep all of you in the loop.

Thanks.

Darin Preis

It Costs more to be Poor

The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don't often explain.

This is a GREAT article about the realities of poverty.

Recovery vs Stimulus

It amuses me that it matters whether I say "stimulus" or "recovery." The word "stimulus" currently carries the burden of a failed strategy under a previous administration while "recovery" waves the banner of "change" for the new administration. Either way, it'll be nice to get something moving. From as early as last January we have been hearing about the critical need to spend recovery dollars quickly, efficiently, and with great accountability. If the money were in a CMCA account right now that's exactly what we'd be doing. Unfortunately, the downside of "recovery" funds is that it takes a heck of a lot more planning, budgeting, partnering, training, etc. than the shot-in-the-arm cashflow of a "stimulus" check that didn't even buy me the tv I'd been pining over. Check out my blog post from January 2008 to see my preference between these two hot-button words. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has the potential to meaningfully stimulate the economy. CMCA alone will be creating roughly 50 jobs directly, not to mention all of the workers and employers we'll be supporting through our programs. Community Action has always been about supporting employee retention. When you can foster stability in the home, assist with basic needs, provide high quality early education through Head Start, and train people for new jobs or increase their work skills, you're stimulating the economy by helping people work! It's exciting to think about all the opportunities we're going to see over the next two years as the recovery funds role out to communities throughout the country. New jobs, invigorated infrastructure, and a new economy based on a healthier set of economic parameters . . . now that's a stimulus I can get behind.

Director's Report - Planning for Stimulus Funds

Since we first started hearing whispers about an economic stimulus package the CMCA board and Leadership Team have been brainstorming on our involvement. The first news that dribbled in was that our Weatherization program would expand significantly. We found out shortly thereafter that it meant we would go from weatherizing roughly 140 homes per year to around 100 homes per month. Subsequent information has shed some light on additional funding for our Employment and Training program, Community Services Block Grant, Head Start and Early Head Start. We still don't have exact details nor guidance on how to access these funds but our plans are gaining some definition. Check out this link for my report to the Board of Directors on the Leadership Team's efforts to brainstorm and begin articulating a plan of action. As soon as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are available, CMCA is ready to flood mid-Missouri with additional services and do our part to support our economy's recovery.

Quick Notes

Our 100 Man lunch in March was extrememly successful. 512 men attended across the 8 counties! This is a new record for this event!

Mernell King, Early Childhood Programs Director, has been selected for the National Head Start Association Leadership Award. She will be presented with her award at the National Head Start Association conference on May 1.

Please join Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) for a first annual, break-out fundraising event on the Katy Trail on April 25, 2009. This unique fundraising event will highlight five beautiful stops along the Katy Trail and celebrates the efforts CMCA has undergone to eliminate poverty in Mid-Missouri. Please visit our event website to register today!

If you aren't available or interested in riding, consider supporting CMCA by making a pledge to my family's contribution.

Riding Out Poverty features 4 legs of the Katy Trail that will accommodate riders of all levels. As a provider that serves the 8-county area that comprises mid-MO, Central Missouri Community Action will be celebrating four of its counties within the legs.

Leg One - North Jefferson to Cooper’s Landing =20.8 miles

Start Time: 9:00 a.m.

Leg Two - Hartsburg to Cooper’s Landing = 10.4 miles

Start Time: 10:30 a.m.

Leg Three - Rocheport to Cooper’s Landing = 14.3 miles

Start Time: 10:00 a.m.

Leg Four - New Franklin to Cooper’s Landing = 24 miles

Start Time: 8:30 a.m.

UCLA Newsreel

It's not everyday that you get quoted in an article linked to UCLA's main website, not to mention a long article about the health literacy initiative at CMCA called I CAN! This partnership is such a great opportunity to do more meaningful work in our community and to share our expertise with a broader audience. The Columbia Tribune also published a recent article with much of the same information and I thought the online feedback was interesting. Feel free to add your own thoughts here.

President Obama's Plans

The Leadership Team is meeting all day on Saturday, March 14 to discuss our ideas for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (this link is a summary of stimulus funds to which Missouri will have access). We know we are getting a tremendous increase in Weatherization (more than 10x our current funding through Sept 2010) and large increases in Head Start (through a competitive application process with amounts unknown), CSBG (nearly double current funding through Sept 2010), and WIA (amounts yet to be determined). The President and Congress has charged us with adding to the safety net of services by assisting record numbers of participants eligible for our services but we're also challenging ourselves to think about sustainability and long term solutions to poverty that the stimulus may not effect. To help us think long term, we'll be analyzing President Obama's plans (click her to reach our planning wiki and then click on "Obama's plans") for his administration and comparing those plans to our transformational plan. We're already cooking up some great ideas but this is such a massive endeavor, I fear missing a great idea that might be floating around out there that we ought to add to our consideration. Please check in with your thoughts and let us know if you've got a good idea for serving more people quickly, creating jobs for low- to moderately-skilled workers, or for meaningful strategies that move people off of public assistance in the long term.

Homeownership is Not for Everybody

But MAN! If you or anybody you know has never owned a home but has been thinking about it, saving up, or dreaming about it, this might be the year to make it happen. With interest rates low, deals on every street (since the housing bubble has burst), and the following information about the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, it becomes an awfully tempting way to stabilize a family's housing needs AND support our country's economic stabilization.

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
Basics

Up to $8,000 is available to first-time homebuyers as part of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR 1) which was signed into law on February 17. You can claim the credit on your 2008 tax return if you buy a home in 2009. You can request an extension from the IRS or file an amended 2008 tax return.

Homeownership Tax Credit Basics

• First-time homebuyers who have not owned a home in the past three years.
• Purchased a home between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
• The home must be their primary residence.
• The home can be a new or resale home, a coop, condo or manufactured home.
• Must live in the home for at least three years (if you sell it before three years, you must repay the credit).
• The credit is 10% of the purchase price (or up to $8,000).

(Source: CFED)

Success Stories Aren't Always Happy

I believe that success in the anti-poverty community stems from relationship building. CMCA recently lost a friend that was a model of this success. I didn't know Mr. Wyss myself but he touched a lot of people as an Ally in our Circles project. You can see his obituary here but the story that follows really hit a cord with me. The story is told by Circles Coach, Colita Harvey.


The Wyss Family first learned about Circles and was introduced to Bridges out of Poverty workbook through Don Day's Sunday School class. For two months, Don taught Bridges out of Poverty to his Sunday School Class, and from that, the Wyss family came to visit our Circles group meeting. This was the third Thursday of the month, where a Big View topic of political issues was discussed and led by a Guiding Coalition member. In addition to the topic, we also did an activity that night called “Speed Dating”. This gave people the opportunity to get to know each other, which everyone enjoyed doing because there were quite a few new faces in the group that night. After the meeting, John and Barbara Wyss came up to me, gave me their email address and wanted to know more in detail about how to become a part of the whole Circle Initiative and also become Allies to a Circle Leader. The next day, I emailed them a flyer which talked about how they could be a part of the initiative, along with the previous Guiding Coalition minutes, and a copy of November monthly agenda. The Wyss’s returned the next meeting and participated in the group discussion sharing their ideas/thoughts, and gave the group advice on certain topics mentioned that night. Later that month we all noticed that John had a walking cane with him and he joked about his legs being pretty weak that night. That next week, while families painted pumpkins and made masks for Family Fun Night Mr. Wyss sat in one seat all night and didn’t get up until it was time to go. We all noticed that he had replaced the cane with a walker to assist him in walking. In November, Don Day mentioned in our Circle meeting that John was now very ill and the doctors knew it was cancer but didn’t know what type or how bad it was. Don also reported that John wasn’t walking anymore at all and had been admitted to the hospital. Don passed around a get well card for all to sign and write words of encouragement. The circle group immediately felt sad, and I told everyone to keep the Wyss family in their thoughts. Vicki, our VISTA worker, had gone by to see John a few times and sat with him, just to make his spirits better, because by this time John and the doctors knew the cancer was all over his body including his brain, and John said he could die any day because the cancer was eating up his body. John's hair and beard were long and white, but he recently cut his hair because he knew that the radiation treatment would make it fall out and he would rather cut his hair before it fell out. At that point, John only had a few sessions left before the doctors would stop all radiation treatment because the treatment wasn't helping his condition. Again, these reports were given to me and the Circle group either by Don or Vicki who went to visit John on a weekly basis. On November 20^th the Circle group meal had a Thanksgiving theme where the Circle members and Guiding Coalition members all brought dishes to make a huge Thanksgiving meal. I sat in the front greeting everyone as they arrived and to everyone's surprise the pastor of Broadway Christian Church was wheeling in John Wyss to the Circle meeting. John had requested a 2 hour pass from the hospital and with his pass he decided to spend it with the Circle families. We all greeted him one at a time and told him how much he had been in our thoughts and spoke about how much we missed him. He sat and had dinner with us for a little more than an hour before heading back to the hospital. The men in the Circle group assisted him to the men’s room first, before going to the car. While he was in the men’s room his wife spoke about how everyone should cherish each moment and not take for granted the time they have to spend with their family. She had no idea how much longer she had with her husband. The group gave her words of encouragement, knowing how difficult sharing had been while talking through a stream of tears. When John finished in the men’s room everyone told John bye and the men then assisted him to the car. For the next 10 minutes the whole group was just amazed about how John took his first and possible only pass from the hospital and chose to spend it with us - the Boone County Circle group.

Walter John Wyss II, 63, of Columbia died Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, in Columbia.