MACAA HISTORY AND PROGRAMS

President Lyndon Johnson fired the first shot in the War on Poverty in his 1964 State of the Union address when he proclaimed, “we have the power to strike away the barriers to full participation in our society.  Having the power, we have the duty…” Soon thereafter he signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to eliminate the “paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty…by opening to everyone the opportunity to work and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity.”  The EOA provided for the creation of Community Action Agencies (CAA) fulfill that mission.  In 1965, 70 local civil rights and anti-poverty activists met in Charlottesville and created the Monticello Area Community Action Agency.  Serving the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson, we “work to eradicate poverty and to improve the lives of people living in our communities."   MACAA offers 9 programs that increase the ability of individuals and families to find solutions to their problems so that they no longer need assistance.  This year we expect to provide services that will benefit over 3,000 individuals. 

MACAA’s first project was Head Start in 1965.  Head Start’s mission is to provide low-income children with comprehensive preschool services that promote school readiness, social, emotional, and physical health, along with a strong parent involvement component in the educational experience of their children. The MACAA Head Start program currently has a funded enrollment of 213 children, and operates 10 centers. Children served are three and four years old, and 90 percent of the families must have incomes at or below 100 percent of federal poverty level ($22,050 for a family of four).

The Project Discovery program was established at MACAA in 1985.  Project Discovery's goal is to help youth from low-income families, especially those who are the first generation to go to college, succeed in high school and set their sights on higher education.  In 2005 MACAA’s Project Discovery program was named Virginia’s Program of the Year because of its high success rate, innovative partnerships, and broad-scale programming.

Other MACAA programs include:

Hope House is a four-unit apartment complex in the City of Charlottesville that provides transitional housing for homeless families.  Qualified participants can spend up to six months rent-free at Hope House.  While in residence families follow a structured program of goal-setting and skill building.  Participants must save 75 percent of their monthly earnings to be used for credit repair and housing security deposits.

Several hundred households a year in the Counties of Fluvanna, Louisa, and Nelson benefit from MACAA’s Rural Outreach crisis intervention program.  Direct services include food, clothing, housing assistance (to avoid foreclosure or eviction), fuel assistance, or help with medical emergencies. The Rural Outreach program also operates thrift shops in each location featuring good, clean merchandise at reasonable prices.  Proceeds benefit MACAA clients at that location.

CARES (Coalition Assisting Residents in Emergency Situations) serves residents in the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County who need one-time emergency aid.  To be eligible for cash assistance, the need must be temporary, and the dollars provided must be part of a payment that resolves the problem.  The recipient must be employed and the individual or family ordinarily self-sufficient.

Family Economic Security provides low-income people a path out of poverty by building assets.  FES programming includes free tax services for those who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Financial Literacy Education, and Individual Development Accounts.

A YEAR OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY

MACAA’s Client Profile

During the fiscal year 2009/10 MACAA served 2,113 clients; 2,060 families. (605 Charlottesville, 581 Albemarle County, 496 Fluvanna County, Louisa County 240,
170 Nelson County and 21 other)

70% of MACAA’s client families were at or below poverty level
(poverty level for a family of four was $22,050 in 2009)
86% of client families were at or below 125% of poverty level
99% were at or below 200% of poverty level.

Of those families, the following statistics were reported:

69% of clients were female
52% of clients were people of color
4% of clients were Hispanic (B/W)
13% of clients were under age 18
84%of these (11% of total) were under age 5
59% of all households included children
39% of 1,206 client households with children were headed by a single parent
89% of these were single female headed households