Stories

Community Housing Partnership (CHP) Nominated for WOOD TV 8's Connecting with CommunityAward!

2012-04-09T16:40:48Z

The Community Housing Partnership, a collaboration between Community Action House and Good Samaritan Ministries, has been nominated for the WOOD TV 8 "Connecting with Community" Award. Congratulations to both agencies and... the staff members that make this program such a success!

Community Housing Partnership: woodtv.com

CAH Receives Bank of America Grant

2012-01-20T15:40:41Z

Bank of America generously donated $20,000 to Community Action House for our operating budget. This ceremony took place at their branch on South Washington in Holland. A huge thank you for an incredible gift!

A Life of Giving: Ruth Hill

2011-11-18T16:22:11Z

Written by Mark Tucker

Those among us who will be truly happy are the ones who have sought and found how to serve. –Albert Schweitzer

I can’t think of a better statement that reflects the life of Ruth Hill, who passed away on October 10, 2011. Ruth was 94 years young. She volunteered at the Community Kitchen for at least 15 years, and was there for 4-5 hours every day.

When Ruth was in her early eighties, she was selected as the Volunteer of the Year for the City of Holland. During her award ceremony, I was stunned to discover that she was simultaneously volunteering at 35 different places! I couldn’t believe it. After the ceremony, I asked Ruth how she possibly had the time for such involvment. She replied, smiling, “Oh, that’s an exaggeration – I’m sure it’s not more than 25 places”. Ruth was always willing to help – and the more she helped, the more she lived.

“Good for her”, I thought, when Ruth decided to take a vacation. When she returned I told her I was surprised that she took some time off. “It was one of the best vacations I ever had”, she replied. “I went and volunteered at a soup kitchen in Chicago... the people were so nice and I just loved the children”. She went on to say, “I just hope they’ll all be safe and live good lives”. I later learned that she had been volunteering in one of the rougher neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago.

Ruthie, as she was called by friends, was described as dedicated, a saint, loving, big hearted, lots of smiles, friendly, caring, a joy to talk with, sweet, and a servant of God. As pastor Jean stated at her celebration of life, “Heaven has been blessed with the passing of such a dear woman, and earth is just a little sadder for her absence from it.” Two years ago Community Action House decided to name their volunteer award after Ruth (and Roseann Burns, another amazing individual); I believe we got that one right.

Goodbye, Ruth. You will be greatly missed.

Holland Christian Cross Country's CAN Run

2011-11-18T16:05:26Z

In order to demonstrate the plethora of possible meanings of the word "CAN", head cross country coach Dave DeKruyter created an out-of-the-box practice for his team.

At the beginning of practice, each runner was given two cans of food to carry, then the team ran from Holland Christian to Community Action House to drop off their donations.

These are a few of the ideas they discussed:

CAN run more
CAN give more
CAN help more
CAN run faster
CAN encourage more

A huge THANK YOU to the Holland Christian Cross Country team for stocking our shelves!

An Unexpected Struggle: Bill and Jo's Story

2011-11-18T16:04:03Z

For many of us, the idea of home foreclosure seems a distant threat, carrying a strong, specific connotation with it. We perceive that it doesn't apply to us – we have secure jobs, are hard-working, have a stable income (or two), and have an education. The possibility that we could be caught in the messy process of saving our home, as well as our stability, is not considered a real concern – we are not included under the umbrella of foreclosure candidates, right?

Unfortunately, the rise of financial instability in our country has slowly and steadily enveloped more and more families into foreclosure. Bill and Jo live in Holland and throughout the past few years have earned a solid middle-class income of $75,000 per year. They graciously provided a home for both their large family and some extended family members who had lost their fight with foreclosure. The situation was tight, but was working – until Bill's salary was unexpectedly cut and Jo lost her job.

These events were the beginning of a long, slow decline in their family's stability. They began to depend on credit cards as a quick and temporary bridge – just to keep them afloat until they could get back on their feet. Their credit card debt ballooned to $26,000, which, in turn, made mortgage payments very difficult to pay.

This combination of reduced income and high interest payments forced Bill and Jo's family into the terribly complex web of foreclosure. For a full year, they worked with their mortgage company in an attempt to keep their home, filling out and filing endless paperwork, keeping their records organized and managed, and attempting to understand the system.

In May 2011, Bill contacted case manager Andrea Fantin at Community Action House. As you can imagine, the first step of asking for help seemed impossible and felt embarrassing, particularly for someone who was used to doing the care-taking, rather than receiving it. Bill and Jo were at the end of their rope – feeling hopeless about the entire process and the prospect of saving their home.

Over the past six months, Andrea and Bill have worked together to navigate foreclosure prevention and take steps to keep the family in their home. One major piece of their gameplan was the Step Forward Program through MSHDA (Michigan State Housing Development Authority). This program began in 2009, and provides federal "hardest hit funds" to the five states needing them most (Michigan, Florida, Arizona, California, and Nevada). One aspect of the program is Principal Curtailment, which Bill and Jo qualified for. In addition, their mortgage company, First Place Bank, agreed to match the funds, resulting in a significant decrease in Bill's principal amount. Andrea and Bill continued their momentum and were successful in securing a mortgage modification, which resulted in a 4% interest rate. This lower interest rate allows Bill's family to manage both their mortgage and credit card payments without continuing to fall behind.

For Bill and Jo's family, approaching Community Action House for help provided the support and partnerships they needed to rebuild their life and create stability in a new way. In addition to a successful foreclosure prevention, Jo began job training in a growing industry and is now working within her field of study, providing income for their family.

Bill and Jo's story is an exciting example of how case management at Community Action House is quite remarkable – case managers, like Andrea, are part of their client's lives as long as it takes, not just for a limited timeframe. Their care for each client's wellbeing produces incredible results, emphasizing again how our middle name – action – continues to help change our community in positive, lasting ways.

Congratulations, Laura! Michigan AmeriCorps Member of the Month, August 2011

2011-10-04T02:59:15Z

By Megan Sargent, Michigan Community Service Commission

Laura Herrick is the type of person who truly believes in helping uplift others for their own benefit, and not for the praise she will receive for her good deeds. This is one of the many reasons Laura was so effective in her position as a full-time AmeriCorps member with the Campaign to End Homelessness AmeriCorps program. Through her site placement at the Community Action House, Laura served the homeless population in Ottawa County.

Laura was responsible for screening homeless individuals and families for the Homeless Assistance Recovery Program (HARP), but that was only the beginning of what she did. Laura provided ongoing case management for families already in the HARP program, as well as provided support services and referrals to persons in need of housing. She focused, in particular, on finding housing for the unsheltered homeless. Laura made referrals to housing programs and maintained regular contact through phone calls and office visits.

At the beginning of her AmeriCorps term of service, Laura had two primary goals: ongoing client interaction and encouraging client input. One of the ways she addressed these goals was to create a Consumer Satisfaction Survey to help determine the needs and challenges facing individuals and families in the program. Through this tool, Laura was able to access valuable information and follow up on concerns expressed through the questionnaire. This allowed her to engage with clients and work with them to meet their expressed needs.

Laura also used the survey to gauge interest in a Consumer Advisory Board. The purpose of the Consumer Advisory Board is to encourage input on existing housing programs, as well as to identify gaps in services in Ottawa County. Laura created an agenda and facilitated the first meeting, which led to future meetings for the group to discuss how to fill the identified gaps. Lyn Raymond, who is the Coordinator for the Ottawa Area Housing Coalition, saw the impact of Laura's service on the community. "Since day one, Laura has been committed to providing the best possible service to the homeless in Ottawa County. Her thoughtfulness and dedication is very valuable to those she serves."

Laura also created a monthly newsletter for HARP participants, full of valuable information and resources. It also serves as a monthly reminder that Laura is available to help with challenges a family might be facing. "Laura ranked among one of the most thoughtful and intelligent members in our program," stated AmeriCorps program director, Melissa Grant. "I enjoyed talking to her about a variety of things, not just those related directly to her service. However, her exemplary service is what really marks her as someone who deserving of this honor."

Laura received a BSW from Hope College and speaks Spanish. She has spent time abroad and has a special interest in working in Latin America.

For more information about the Campaign to End Homelessness AmeriCorps program, contact Melissa Grant at grantm2@michigan.gov or 517.335.3213. For more information about AmeriCorps, visit americorps.gov.

Notes: Work completed by Laura Herrick benefits all of Ottawa County; Community Action House serves as host site. Laura recently ended her term with Community Action House, however, a new AmeriCorps volunteer, Cara Zerbel, will be joining the team in November 2011.

SOAR Success: Kim and Benito

2008-07-17T20:37:43Z

The SOAR program is designed to assist people in applying for Social Security Insurance (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Case workers provide in-depth, step-by-step assistance to ensure a client’s application is filled out correctly, helping to avoid determination delays for client eligibility. SOAR targets homeless families and individuals dealing with undiagnosed disabilities.

In January 2011, Benito and his family were homeless and living in their car. Their family’s journey with Community Action House began by connecting with case manager Kim Romero, who assisted them in moving to the Community Housing Partnership (transitional housing). This provided an excellent bridge for the family as their SOAR application process began.

Kim stresses that acceptance through the SOAR program is a lengthy, tedious process, which involves in-depth knowledge of both the social security program’s nuances and an individual client’s history. “The advantage we have is our close relationship with clients and knowledge of their situation – we know their full histories and how their information fits into the program and application process.” Kim’s ability to organize this information and “stay on top” of each case has been the catalyst for her high acceptance rate through the SOAR program.

Because of Kim’s diligence, Benito was accepted through the SOAR program in August, less than nine months after Kim and Benito met. He now receives social security benefits, and his family has rented a home with family members. The stability that the SOAR program provides Benito’s family has allowed them to begin their path toward self-sufficiency – and Benito isn’t shy in crediting Kim for her guidance in the process:

“We’re doing so much better. Kim helped us out a lot... She’s always there for us if we need her.” –Benito