Hope, Help & Change in Action
Stories of Impact from 2022-2023
This past year has been challenging for so many in our community. With the rising costs of food and rent, many hard-working families are struggling and continue to face uncertainty.
But with your support, Community Action has been and continues to be on the front lines providing support that keeps families housed, keeps kids in school, and keeps food on their tables.
Read our 2022 – 2023 Impact Report to see how your support has made a difference.
With your help, an immigrant family found critical support for their three-year-old during a challenging time.
Sam and Rose immigrated from Kenya to further their careers and better educational opportunities for their children. Their daughter, Zoey, was a toddler who didn’t speak English. During this life transition, Sam and Rose reached out to Head Start.
Because of your support, Head Start was able to give Zoey the social and emotional support she needed while learning a new language in a new country.
Read more of Sam and Rose's story here.
After living in a car for two months, Alicia knew she needed to find help for herself and her family. That’s when she turned to Community Action’s family shelter.
Alicia had been supporting her family for years working as a caretaker in a nursing home. But when her hours were suddenly reduced, she couldn’t make her monthly rent payments, and she lost her home.
She turned to Community Action during her time of crisis.
Thanks to donors like you, our family shelter provided a safe, supportive living space for Alicia and her family.
Jasmin wanted to make a better life for her daughter. Thanks to you, she found the support she needed to forge a new career path.
Throughout her childhood and into adolescence, Jasmin, one of ten siblings, lived with the struggle of poverty. So when she became a mom herself, she vowed to make a better life for her daughter.
Because of donors like you, Community Action was there to provide critical support for career advancement that helped her break the cycle of poverty for her and her young family.
Because of your support, Jeanne no longer dreads her home in winter.
Jeanne’s furnace of twenty years went out at the worst time – the middle of January. As a retired art therapist living on social security, she could not afford a new one. To make things worse, she suffers from debilitating arthritis that gets aggravated in the cold. As temperatures dropped, the cold affected her condition to the point where she had trouble walking. Thanks to supporters like you, the Energy Conservation team was able to restore heat to her home with a new furnace and new insulation.
When all looked hopeless, your support helped Jessica and her family find stability and a new path for success.
After summoning the strength to leave an abusive relationship, Jessica found herself in a very difficult situation. She was suddenly a single mom of two and she was expecting her third. Difficulties with her pregnancy forced her to leave her manufacturing job. Because of donors like you, Jessica received the support to keep a roof over her family's head, and was given the resources to launch her very own child care business, changing the trajectory of her and her family's lives.
Read more about Jessica's transformational story.
When crisis hit, your support kept Suanny on her path toward a better future.
Suanny was working toward a better future for her and her kids through Community Action’s Head Start and Whole Family Approach programs. When the pandemic hit, things got harder and she needed help with housing. Your support got her the housing she needed to keep her kids in school, complete her job training, and find a full-time job.
Read more about Suanny's inspiring journey.
After being homeless for three years, Kira and her kids finally got into an apartment. Then the pandemic hit, putting all that at risk.
Kira turned to us for help when she lost her job due to the pandemic and could not pay her rent. She was scared as she faced the prospect of becoming homeless. Because of donors like you, Kira received emergency rent assistance. Kira and her kids are now able to stay safe and secure in their home.
Read more about Kira’s journey.
Thanks to donors like you, Tina’s unexpected car repairs didn’t derail her family’s progress
When Tina was faced with $2,000 of unexpected car repairs, she was at a loss. As a single mom of four boys including one with special needs, she had no other way to get them to their various therapy appointments. Fortunately, Tina was working with a Family Advocate at Community Action who helped her apply for funds from our donor supported Family Development Fund. With your donations, we were able to help Tina with her car repairs and keep her family on track.
Your support helped Patricia turn a devastating job less into a new career path
When Patricia lost her job, she also lost her apartment. She and her three children were facing homelessness and she fell into a depression. Fortunately, because of donors like you, Patricia was able to turn to Community Action and find the support she needed to get back on her feet. And she is thrilled to have also found a new, more rewarding career path in health care.
Facing an uncertain future of being able to remain safely in their home, John and Ruth found help and hope at a critical time
John and Ruth were a semi-retired couple living on a fixed income and caring for an elderly parent. With limited finances and aging appliances, the couple struggled to keep their house warm – and faced an uncertain future of being able to safely remain in their home. Because of your support, Community Action’s Energy Conservation program was able to provide John and Ruth’s home with the right upgrades and repairs – giving the couple help and hope at a critical time.
