South Michigan families protected from lead in homes · 2018-01-26 · Payday loans are marketed as...
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Volume 4, Issue 1 January 2018 In This Issue... South Michigan families protected from lead in homes Skilled trades students to help housing deficit in Allegan County Crafting valuable social media content takes creativity Careers of Community Action members recognized Warm Hearts Warm Homes campaign a success Did you know? Quick Links MCA Website Contact Us Legislative Priorities CAAs in the News Follow MCA on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Keep up with news coverage and action alerts. Click on the links below to follow MCA today. MCA's Mission To serve member agencies and strengthen their capacity to alleviate the causes and circumstances of poverty. Announcements Poverty statistics per district available on MCA website Poverty rates across Michigan are being tracked by Michigan Community Action, in order to help communities compare and contrast the incidence of poverty locally. Fact sheets with statistics on population, educational attainment and median wages are available by Senate and House districts. The project was a joint effort with the Michigan League for Public Policy. Click here to view the fact sheets. For a full list of announcements, visit MCA’s website. Upcoming Events MI CCAP Study Group Jan. 17 The MI CCAP Study Group will meet with Charles McCann on Wednesday, Jan. 17, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at MCA’s office in Okemos. For a full list of events, visit MCA’s calendar. Warm Hearts Warm Homes campaign a success The Warm Hearts, Warm Homes campaign received $67,000 in donations in December Thanks to the generous support of Central Michigan University Public Radio, Consumers Energy Foundation, and Isabella Bank, there will be an additional $67,000 for local Community Action Agencies to help clients with energy assistance. Funds were raised as a dollar-for-dollar match of pledges made to WCMU Public Radio. MCA thanks the organizations and donors who made the extra assistance possible. Did you know? Payday loans are marketed as an infusion of cash, typically in small amounts, to financially struggling people, however, during emergencies borrowers often get into a cycle of debt that can last months or even years. Many Community Action Agencies offer training in financial literacy, household budgeting, tax return preparation, individual development accounts and other ways to help clients and families avoid the payday lending trap. Catalyst welcomes input, story ideas Is there a story or issue you'd like to see covered in Catalyst? Let us know what's happening in your agency or region. Success stories? Recent events? People news? We welcome your input and feedback. Please send your comments and ideas here. MCA Officers/Board Members 2017-2019 Jill Sutton President Mid Michigan CAA Louis Piszker Vice President Wayne Metro CAA Michelle Williamson Secretary Treasurer Community Action Toby Berry Urban Officer Community Action Agency Kerri Duff Upper Peninsula Officer Gogebic Ontonagon CAA Arthur Fenrick Lower Peninsula Rural Officer Southwestern Michigan CAA Melinda Johnson At-Large Officer Blue Water Community Action Doug McFadden CAA Governing Board Officer EightCAP Matt Purcell Directors Council Chair GCCARD Eric Schertzing CAA Governing Board Officer Capital Area Comm. Services South Michigan families protected from lead in homes Lead paint peels off of a home, exposing the family to lead dust in the surrounding soil and air. More families in central and southwest Michigan will live in safer, lead-free homes thanks to a new lead abatement program by Community Action of South Central Michigan (CAASCM). The agency partnered with the city of Battle Creek in obtaining a $1.5 million grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to remove lead from 50 homes. The city will oversee lead removal from 30 homes within Battle Creek proper, while CAASCM will use its $617,000 share of the grant to perform remediation on 20 homes in other Calhoun County communities, with a focus on Marshall, Albion and Homer. Chuck Asher, CAASCM’s director of programs, says those locales were chosen because of their concentration of houses built before 1979, when lead was banned from paint. CAASCM is further targeting households within those communities that have pregnant women or Medicaid-enrolled children, particularly those 6 and under because lead is more damaging at younger stages of development. The grant is one of six statewide DHHS is awarding in the wake of the Flint water crisis, which raised awareness of lead dangers in communities throughout Michigan. The Battle Creek/CAASCM grant is for five years and recurs annually, assuming satisfactory performance, Asher says, adding that additional state funding could become available that would allow the agency to extend lead abatement to the other counties it serves: Barry, Branch and St. Joseph. CAASCM already had been working to alleviate lead dangers in its communities, having assisted a local task force’s education efforts. Also, a nurse with the agency-administered Head Start program has been testing children for lead exposure. The agency plans to continue testing for families that sign up for the lead-abatement services that will remove all presence of lead from households. For example, abatement could range from testing toys and water for lead, encapsulating or removing lead- based paint or replacing all of a house’s plumbing, including service lines that connect to the municipal water supply. The grant also will cover the costs of temporarily relocating families if necessary while the work is ongoing. CAASCM plans to begin inspecting houses for the presence of lead early next year, after a staff member gains needed certification to perform inspections and the agency recruits contractors to do the actual abatement work. CAASCM already has relationships with a number of local contractors that perform weatherization improvements and minor house repairs on its behalf, Asher says. Skilled trades students to help housing deficit in Allegan County Workers install roof shingles to complete construction project. Unemployed workers are gaining trade skills as they learn how to build affordable housing for low income Allegan County residents, thanks to a collaboration among Community Action Allegan County (CAAC) and other community stakeholders. CAAC created the “Dual Project”, a pre-apprenticeship program, along with Michigan Career Technical Institute, Michigan Association of Homebuilders and MiWorks, designed to groom new skilled trades workers. Thirty students, most of whom have only completed high school, are expected to graduate with certification that will position them to compete for construction jobs. Meanwhile, they will construct eco-friendly homes that low-income families will be able to afford. “We’re responding to housing needs but not in the traditional way that the housing industry responds,” says Christian Deuel, CAAC program development coordinator, adding that Allegan County has a shortage of 5,000 housing units. “What’s unique about the project is we’re using the labor of students and engineering concepts to drive down the cost.” The curriculum is recognized throughout 50 states and is a response to a national need for workers. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for students,” Deuel explains, nothing that the training is transferable to other states. “If they choose to move to California, their certificate is a viable source of employment for them.” Since the average age of skilled trades people is 55 years, according to Center for America, a significant lack of skilled workers is projected over the next decade. CAAC hopes to engage individuals who may not be interested in pursuing a college education but are ready to join the workforce. “CAAC’s Dual Project is a wonderful example of community collaboration,” says Rep. Mary Whiteford (Casco Township). “Our local organizations have worked on this project for more than two years, pooling their resources to think outside the box and as a result have created a truly innovative program that will add tremendous value to our Allegan County community.” Classes begin in February and the first group of students is excited about the opportunity to help others, Brenda Molendyk, CAAC chief financial officer/chief operating officer says. “They were like, ‘You’re kidding. We’re going to actually do that, we’re going to build that?’ This is a pathway to employment for them and they’ll be building something that’s sustainable and part of their education.” Crafting valuable social media content takes creativity Social media is a rapidly expanding communication tool, accessible to many people through their smart phone. Social media is a rapidly expanding communication tool that includes nearly 2 billion Facebook users, 800 million Instagram users and 330 million Twitter followers, according to Statista. With opportunities to engage diverse groups of people, social media is another platform for Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to spread awareness of their mission to alleviate poverty. Here are a few quick tips to help CAAs become more social media-savvy. Split posts between content that is informative (80 percent) and content that is self-promotional (20 percent). Most content should be valuable, useful and engaging for followers with the potential to educate and attract more interest in the organization. Once an organization gains a following on social media, it can self-promote and drive traffic to its website. Use the 80/20 rule to determine balanced content. Post a variety of content to maintain followers’ interest. Polls, videos and Q&As are just a few ways CAAs can keep social media posts engaging. Staying up-to-date with trending topics online, actively using hashtags and even using a well-placed emoji can help pique followers’ interest and elevate content to a larger viewing audience. Content is more compelling with visuals, and CAAs have plenty of community programs, events and clients they can draw from for inspiration. Visual content helps express ideas quickly and often more effectively than a written piece of information. Substituting an infographic for a paragraph of text, for example, will not only simplify ideas for social media audiences but will increase the likelihood of follower interactions. Excite and delight followers. Social media is not only a space for conveying information but a place to make followers smile. Relaying happy stories and relatable, funny photos helps accounts become more memorable and offsets the drier, informative posts. Connecting with people online becomes easier if posts inspire emotion and action. Whether a CAA wants to highlight a program participant’s success or underscore the importance of federally-funded programs, carefully-curated content can help pave the way to a wider reach and an engaged audience. Careers of Community Action members recognized Ivan Love, Executive Director of Capital Area Community Services, was honored for his 41-year career during MCA’s
Transcript of South Michigan families protected from lead in homes · 2018-01-26 · Payday loans are marketed as...
Volume 4, Issue 1 January 2018
In This Issue...
South Michigan familiesprotected from lead in homes
Skilled trades students to helphousing deficit in AlleganCounty
Crafting valuable social mediacontent takes creativity
Careers of Community Actionmembers recognized
Warm Hearts Warm Homescampaign a success
Did you know?
Quick Links
MCA Website
Contact Us
Legislative Priorities
CAAs in the News
Follow MCA on Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn
Keep up with news coverage andaction alerts. Click on the linksbelow to follow MCA today.
MCA's Mission
To serve member agencies andstrengthen their capacity toalleviate the causes andcircumstances of poverty.
Announcements
Poverty statistics per districtavailable on MCA website
Poverty rates across Michiganare being tracked by MichiganCommunity Action, in order to helpcommunities compare andcontrast the incidence of povertylocally. Fact sheets with statisticson population, educationalattainment and median wages areavailable by Senate and Housedistricts. The project was a jointeffort with the Michigan League forPublic Policy. Click here to viewthe fact sheets.
For a full list ofannouncements, visit MCA’swebsite.
Upcoming Events
MI CCAP Study Group Jan. 17
The MI CCAP Study Group willmeet with Charles McCann onWednesday, Jan. 17, from 10a.m.-3 p.m. at MCA’s office inOkemos.
For a full list of events,visit MCA’s calendar.
Warm Hearts WarmHomes campaign asuccess
The Warm Hearts, Warm Homescampaign received $67,000 indonations in December
Thanks to the generous supportof Central Michigan UniversityPublic Radio, Consumers EnergyFoundation, and Isabella Bank,there will be an additional $67,000for local Community ActionAgencies to help clients withenergy assistance. Funds wereraised as a dollar-for-dollar matchof pledges made to WCMU PublicRadio. MCA thanks theorganizations and donors whomade the extra assistancepossible.
Did you know?
Payday loans are marketed asan infusion of cash, typically insmall amounts, to financiallystruggling people, however, duringemergencies borrowers often getinto a cycle of debt that can lastmonths or even years. ManyCommunity Action Agencies offertraining in financial literacy,household budgeting, tax returnpreparation, individualdevelopment accounts and otherways to help clients and familiesavoid the payday lending trap.
Catalyst welcomes input, story ideas
Is there a story or issue you'dlike to see covered in Catalyst?
Let us know what's happening inyour agency or region. Successstories? Recent events? Peoplenews?
We welcome your input andfeedback. Please send yourcomments and ideas here.
MCA Officers/Board Members 2017-2019
Jill Sutton President
Mid Michigan CAA
Louis Piszker Vice President
Wayne Metro CAA
Michelle Williamson Secretary Treasurer
Community Action
Toby BerryUrban Officer
Community Action Agency
Kerri DuffUpper Peninsula Officer
Gogebic Ontonagon CAA
Arthur Fenrick Lower Peninsula Rural Officer
Southwestern Michigan CAA
Melinda Johnson At-Large Officer
Blue Water Community Action
Doug McFaddenCAA Governing Board OfficerEightCAPMatt Purcell
Directors Council Chair GCCARD
Eric Schertzing CAA Governing Board OfficerCapital Area Comm. Services
South Michigan families protected fromlead in homes
Lead paint peels off of a home, exposing the family to lead dust in the surrounding soiland air.
More families in central and southwest Michigan will live in safer,lead-free homes thanks to a new lead abatement program byCommunity Action of South Central Michigan (CAASCM).
The agency partnered with the city of Battle Creek in obtaining a$1.5 million grant from the Michigan Department of Health andHuman Services to remove lead from 50 homes. The city willoversee lead removal from 30 homes within Battle Creek proper,while CAASCM will use its $617,000 share of the grant to performremediation on 20 homes in other Calhoun County communities,with a focus on Marshall, Albion and Homer.
Chuck Asher, CAASCM’s director of programs, says thoselocales were chosen because of their concentration of housesbuilt before 1979, when lead was banned from paint. CAASCM isfurther targeting households within those communities that havepregnant women or Medicaid-enrolled children, particularly those6 and under because lead is more damaging at younger stages ofdevelopment.
The grant is one of six statewide DHHS is awarding in the wake ofthe Flint water crisis, which raised awareness of lead dangers incommunities throughout Michigan.
The Battle Creek/CAASCM grant is for five years and recursannually, assuming satisfactory performance, Asher says, addingthat additional state funding could become available that wouldallow the agency to extend lead abatement to the other counties itserves: Barry, Branch and St. Joseph.
CAASCM already had been working to alleviate lead dangers inits communities, having assisted a local task force’s educationefforts. Also, a nurse with the agency-administered Head Startprogram has been testing children for lead exposure.
The agency plans to continue testing for families that sign up forthe lead-abatement services that will remove all presence of leadfrom households. For example, abatement could range fromtesting toys and water for lead, encapsulating or removing lead-based paint or replacing all of a house’s plumbing, includingservice lines that connect to the municipal water supply. Thegrant also will cover the costs of temporarily relocating families ifnecessary while the work is ongoing.
CAASCM plans to begin inspecting houses for the presence oflead early next year, after a staff member gains neededcertification to perform inspections and the agency recruitscontractors to do the actual abatement work. CAASCM alreadyhas relationships with a number of local contractors that performweatherization improvements and minor house repairs on itsbehalf, Asher says.
Skilled trades students to help housingdeficit in Allegan County
Workers install roof shingles to complete construction project.
Unemployed workers are gaining trade skills as they learn how tobuild affordable housing for low income Allegan County residents,thanks to a collaboration among Community Action AlleganCounty (CAAC) and other community stakeholders.
CAAC created the “Dual Project”, a pre-apprenticeship program,along with Michigan Career Technical Institute, MichiganAssociation of Homebuilders and MiWorks, designed to groomnew skilled trades workers.
Thirty students, most of whom have only completed high school,are expected to graduate with certification that will position themto compete for construction jobs. Meanwhile, they will constructeco-friendly homes that low-income families will be able to afford.
“We’re responding to housing needs but not in the traditional waythat the housing industry responds,” says Christian Deuel, CAACprogram development coordinator, adding that Allegan Countyhas a shortage of 5,000 housing units. “What’s unique about theproject is we’re using the labor of students and engineeringconcepts to drive down the cost.”
The curriculum is recognized throughout 50 states and is aresponse to a national need for workers.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for students,” Deuel explains, nothingthat the training is transferable to other states. “If they choose tomove to California, their certificate is a viable source ofemployment for them.”
Since the average age of skilled trades people is 55 years,according to Center for America, a significant lack of skilledworkers is projected over the next decade. CAAC hopes toengage individuals who may not be interested in pursuing acollege education but are ready to join the workforce.
“CAAC’s Dual Project is a wonderful example of communitycollaboration,” says Rep. Mary Whiteford (Casco Township). “Our local organizations have worked on this project for more thantwo years, pooling their resources to think outside the box and asa result have created a truly innovative program that will addtremendous value to our Allegan County community.”
Classes begin in February and the first group of students isexcited about the opportunity to help others, Brenda Molendyk,CAAC chief financial officer/chief operating officer says.
“They were like, ‘You’re kidding. We’re going to actually do that,we’re going to build that?’ This is a pathway to employment forthem and they’ll be building something that’s sustainable and partof their education.”
Crafting valuable social media contenttakes creativity
Social media is a rapidly expanding communication tool, accessible to many peoplethrough their smart phone.
Social media is a rapidly expanding communication tool thatincludes nearly 2 billion Facebook users, 800 million Instagramusers and 330 million Twitter followers, according to Statista. Withopportunities to engage diverse groups of people, social media isanother platform for Community Action Agencies (CAAs) tospread awareness of their mission to alleviate poverty. Here are afew quick tips to help CAAs become more social media-savvy.
Split posts between content that is informative (80 percent)and content that is self-promotional (20 percent). Mostcontent should be valuable, useful and engaging for followers withthe potential to educate and attract more interest in theorganization. Once an organization gains a following on socialmedia, it can self-promote and drive traffic to its website. Use the80/20 rule to determine balanced content.
Post a variety of content to maintain followers’ interest. Polls,videos and Q&As are just a few ways CAAs can keep socialmedia posts engaging. Staying up-to-date with trending topicsonline, actively using hashtags and even using a well-placedemoji can help pique followers’ interest and elevate content to alarger viewing audience.
Content is more compelling with visuals, and CAAs haveplenty of community programs, events and clients they can drawfrom for inspiration. Visual content helps express ideas quicklyand often more effectively than a written piece of information. Substituting an infographic for a paragraph of text, for example,will not only simplify ideas for social media audiences but willincrease the likelihood of follower interactions.
Excite and delight followers. Social media is not only a spacefor conveying information but a place to make followers smile. Relaying happy stories and relatable, funny photos helpsaccounts become more memorable and offsets the drier,informative posts. Connecting with people online becomes easierif posts inspire emotion and action.
Whether a CAA wants to highlight a program participant’s successor underscore the importance of federally-funded programs,carefully-curated content can help pave the way to a wider reachand an engaged audience.
Careers of Community Action membersrecognizedIvan Love, Executive Director of Capital Area CommunityServices, was honored for his 41-year career during MCA’s
Directors Council meeting Dec. 11 inOkemos. MCA Board of DirectorsPresident Jill Sutton(Mid Michigan CAA)presented a plaque to Love that read, “InRecognition and Appreciation of YourOutstanding Career of Service andDedication to the Mission and Ideals ofCommunity Action”. Love will retire Jan. 19.
The Council alsopresented a plaque
to Sandie Essendrup, who announced herretirement as Executive Director of DickinsonIron Community Services Agency.
Michigan Community Action2173 Commons Parkway
Okemos, MI 48864 517.321.7500
