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"As for our family, we are so grateful for CCA and the staff that
believed in us and helped us during probably the most difficult time
we'll face as a family. Because of our poor choices, our family was
almost destroyed. But God held us together with the help of CCA and gave
us the tools to be the best family we can be." |
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1,000 Days - 1,000 Lives Transformed Campaign Launched August 19, Christian Community Action kicked off a new era with the unveiling of a new brand featuring a new logo, purpose and purpose statement. In conjunction with this announcement was the launch of the 1,000 Days – 1,000 Lives Transformed Campaign. CCA’s new logo features a dove taking flight from a hand, representing our new purpose – Transforming Lives, Ending Homelessness in Porter County. CCA provides a safe haven for individuals and families to build solid foundations through education, counseling and support to motivate and empower them to become productive economic and community contributors. CCA’s primary programs are: · Greenwich House: a transition program for chronically mentally ill women seeking a foundation for managing their illness in a more independent life situation · Spring Valley: a short-term, transitional program to help homeless families develop life skills and job assistance to break the poverty cycle in which they have lived · Emergency Assistance: support for households to fund specific needs (rent, utilities, etc.) when unforeseen financial strains threaten the loss of their home Christian Community Action is entering a new era in its 44 year history. During the last 2 years, CCA quadrupled our capacity to serve, we have tripled our physical property and doubled our operating budget to meet these needs. CCA has grown more in the last two years than in its previous history. During this growth, much has changed in how we provide our services, our funding sources, our funding needs and, more importantly, the challenges and needs of our clients. In consecutive months, CCA has set new records for intakes – the term for a completed application from a household seeking assistance. In May, more than 90 households completed intakes for either shelter or emergency assistance. In July, the requests increased 60% with 153 households (3-5 person per household average) seeking assistance – 109 for our residential program, Spring Valley and another 44 households who sought Emergency Assistance. In order to serve this increase and begin to transform lives by moving people out of poverty, we need to address the three primary challenges our clients face · Limited education, limited job training and understanding of gaining/keeping a job o More than 70% of our adult clients do not have high school diploma a GED or a plan/priority to get one. This greatly limits their employability and income potential. o They do not have adequate job seeking skills and in many cases, the understanding of what it means and takes to be a good, committed employee. o A major, lasting problem of the low priority on education by parents is they pass that attitude down to their children, perpetuating the cycle of poverty · Substance Abuse o The abuse of alcohol and drugs is a growing problem. It accentuates problems of finding or keeping employment, dramatically impacts the ability to properly manage one’s family and changes priorities for use of time and money. o We must address this problem as part of an overall solution of helping our clients transform their lives for a better future o Undiagnosed and improperly treated diagnosed mental illness can cause trouble with employment, family relationships and making good decisions. o The stress over a lost job or home can push a subtle or minor mental illness into a much higher level of ‘control’ over an individual. o Along with an understanding of general health and wellness, a complete understanding of mental health/illness can play a big role in a person and their family’s ability to adjust to changes and move forward in a better way To answer the call of more people seeking help with a wider array of challenges, CCA is launching our 1,000 Days – 1,000 Lives Transformed Campaign. The only way to truly address the growing problem is to slow or stop the increasing number of people who are living in poverty. There is a Federal charge to our community to end homelessness in 10-years. Working with members of other agencies as well as our local business community and citizens, we are taking this charge to heart. As we start this 1,000 Day Campaign, we don’t have all of the solutions, but we have a plan to start moving in the right direction. Here is our plan for the immediate future:
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