Community Action House
| Founded | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit Organization |
| Focus | Social Services |
Area served | Holland, Michigan, Ottawa County, Michigan, Allegan County, Michigan |
| Method | Client-choice walk-in food pantry, monthly food distribution, community kitchen, empowerment/employment programs, community garden, financial and home buyer empowerment |
Key people | Mark Tucker, Executive Director (retired) |
Employees | 27 |
Volunteers | 400+ |
| Website | communityactionhouse.org |
Community Action House is a nonprofit social services organization based in Holland, Michigan. Their mission statement is to: "Provide area families and individuals with food, clothing, shelter, and opportunities to build necessary skills to achieve a stable and prosperous life." The organization has defined prosperity as "the ability of all community members to have access to basic needs, community abundance, opportunity, positive development, and hope.”[1][2]
History[edit]
The organization was founded in 1969 after presentations were made by Lupita Reyes to Holland-area churches regarding the need for a community safety net. Over its existence, the organization has offered a variety of programs to meed changing community needs and populations, including food pantries, a community kitchen, free clothing, assistance with housing, foreclosure, case management, and financial education.[3]
Notable programs[edit]
Community Kitchen[edit]
In 1992, the Community Kitchen was founded, a collaboration between Community Action House, Western Theological Seminary, and local-area church congregations.[4] Free meals are served five to seven days a week, similar to a soup kitchen model. Meals include a hot entree, vegetable, salad, fruit, dessert, juice, and milk, served in a safe space onsite at Western Seminary. In July of 2017, the Community Kitchen was relocated to First United Methodist Church of Holland pending renovations of the kitchen space on the seminary campus.[5]
Community Housing Partnership[edit]
In 1996, Community Action House partnered with another social services organization local to the Holland, Michigan area, Good Samaritan Ministries, to establish the Community Housing Partnership (CHP). CHP served families over an 18-month period as they moved from homelessness into 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.
Foreclosure Prevention[edit]
Community Action House assists 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.[6]
Thanksgiving Baskets[edit]
During the week of Thanksgiving, Community Action House distributes hundreds of baskets free of charge to families in the greater Holland, Michigan area. The annual service is supported through donation drives by schools, churches, business, and organizations and occurs on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving each year. Baskets include full-size turkey and fixings for families to prepare at home.[7]
Resale and Thrift[edit]
Community Action House operates a resale/thrift store called the General Store which collects, refurbishes, and offers for sale donated items to generate revenue for programs. The store was founded in 2011 and offers clothing, furniture, bikes, appliances, an books.[8]
Focus areas[edit]
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Awards and recognition[edit]
In 2005, the Community Housing Partnership 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.[11]
Community Action House was awarded a Human Relations Social Justice Awards in 2010 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." [12]
Community Action House has helped over 140 families facing foreclosure crisis remain in their homes since November 2008. As the foreclosure crisis continued in West Michigan, over 260 residents of Ottawa and Allegan counties contacted the Foreclosure Prevention Program in 2010.[13]
Community partnerships[edit]
Community Action House has partnered with the Greater Ottawa County United Way, Good Samaritan Ministries [1], Ottawa Food[2] and Western Theological Seminary.
References[edit]
- ↑ H/Z, Community Foundation (2016-10-25). "Community Action House". Giving Matters. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "Home". Community Action House. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "History". Community Action House. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "Celebrating 25 years of the Community Kitchen - Western Theological Seminary". Western Theological Seminary. 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "Community Kitchen Returns to Western Theological Seminary". Community Action House. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "Foreclosure Prevention". Community Action House. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ Inc., Midwest Communications. "Community Action House to distribute Thanksgiving Baskets". 1450 99.7 WHTC. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "Resale Stores". Community Action House. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ 616-546-4219, Sydney.Smith @hollandsentinel.com. "Holland-area advocates work to connect homeless with services ahead of winter". Holland Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ "Overview". Community Action House. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- ↑ http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/11735.pdf
- ↑ "Commission Selects 2010 Social Justice Award Recipients - City of Holland Michigan Official Website". www.cityofholland.com.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2010-09-23.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
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