- Community Action House
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Community Action House Founded 1969 Location Holland, Michigan Key people Mark Tucker, Executive Director Focus social services Method food, clothing, shelter Endowment $277,499 Volunteers 250 Employees 18 Motto Providing Hope. Empowering People. Building Community. Website http://www.communityactionhouse.org/ Community Action House is a nonprofit social services organization based in Holland, Michigan. In collaboration with Good Samaritan Ministries, the organization established a Community Housing Partnership program, which in 2005, was the national recipient of the Partners in Transformation Award from the Faith and Service Technical Education Network and the Points of Light Foundation.
Contents
Organization history
The organization was founded in 1969. For over 40 years Community Action House has been helping end poverty and promoting community through individual empowerment.
National recognition
In 1996, Community Action House partnered with another local social services organization, Good Samaritan Ministries, to establish a program called Community Housing Partnership (CHP). The CHP program serves families over an 18-month period as they move from homelessness to stable housing. Community Action House and Good Samaritan Ministries have provided positive results with 80 percent of the program participants leaving homelessness. Twenty percent of those graduates have become homeowners.
In 2005, the CHP program received national recognition as a recipient of the Partners in Transformation Award from the Faith and Service Technical Education Network (FASTEN), a collaborative initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Points of Light Foundation.[1]
Values
Community Action House is an ethical, team-oriented, dedicated, professional and culturally sensitive agency. Community Action House is committed to a healthy community, and believes in working closely with organizations that share similar values. The goal is to strive to make effective use of resources through collaborative projects. The mission of Community Action House involves breaking the cycle of poverty by empowering families and individuals to achieve self-sufficiency. This allows them to contribute their gifts, skills and resources to the rest of society in a meaningful and tangible way.
Focus areas
- Emergency Services
- Food Pantry
- Clothing Pantry
- Personal Care Items
- Foreclosure Prevention
- Homelessness Prevention
- Transitional Housing
- Educational Programs and Classes
- Community Kitchen
- Community Garden
- Thrift Store
Foreclosure prevention
Community Action House can assist families experiencing a foreclosure crisis by collaborating and advocating on their behalf to mortgage companies and lenders, providing financial counseling and education, and assisting in obtaining alternative housing if foreclosure is unavoidable.
Community Action House was awarded a Human Relations Social Justice Awards in 2010.
"The Housing award went to the Community Action House Foreclosure Prevention Program for their efforts to address the foreclosure crisis by assisting homeowners to understand the foreclosure process and assist homeowners to save their homes. Housing Case Managers meet with families to provide budget counseling and assist them to negotiate with mortgage companies and to arrange loan modifications to avoid foreclosure." [2]
Since the program began in November 2008, Community Action House has helped keep over 140 families in their homes. As the foreclosure crisis continues in West Michigan, over 260 residents of Ottawa and Allegan counties contacted the Foreclosure Prevention Program in 2010.[3]
Community partnerships
Community Action House has partnered with Greater Ottawa County United Way, Good Samaritan Ministries, Western Theological Seminary and Michigan Works Association.
References
- ^ http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/11735.pdf
- ^ http://www.cityofholland.com/humanrelations/commission-selects-2010-social-justice-award-recipients
- ^ http://www.hollandsentinel.com/business/x1689209733/Foreclosures-down-Numbers-still-high-as-organizations-work-to-keep-families-in-homes/
External links
- The official Community Action House website
- Community Action House wins the Social Justice Award
- Community Action House interviewed by WZZM-13
- Community Action House quoted by the Holland Sentinel
- Community Action House interviewed by the Grand Rapids Press
- Community Action House receives gift from Bank of America
Categories:- Non-profit organizations based in the United States
- Holland, Michigan
- Homelessness in the United States
- Poverty in the United States
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