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Community
Action
Solutions |
| Volume 3, Issue 2 |
August 2001 |
Oklahoma Housing & Energy Conference Aug. 13 –16
“2001 - A Housing Odyssey” is the theme for the Ninth Annual
Oklahoma Housing and Energy Conference scheduled for Aug. 13-16 at the
Biltmore Hotel, I-40 & Meridian, in Oklahoma City. •
Homeownership for People
with Disabilities •
Weatherization •
Non-Traditional Housing
Issues •
Show Me the Money
The registration fee is $100. For more information, call
405-524-4124. Tuesday, Aug.
14 Person-Centered Planning for
Home Ownership Air Quality in the Home Financial Literacy Alternative Energy Sources:
Wind Power A Roof Over Every Head: Fair
Housing Issues Insulation Process: Energy
Efficient Homes House with Lead-Based Paint:
Now What? Down Payment, Closing Costs,
Tax Credits Self-Help Home Partnerships
for People with Disabilities Insulation Process: Energy
Efficient Homes - cont. House with Lead-Based Paint:
Now What? - cont. Affordable Housing Resources 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. HUD Programs for People with
Disabilities Base Load Field Applications Affordable Housing: Knowing
Your Local Non-Profit Single Family Innovations 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon Homeownership: Living the
American Dream Base Load Field Applications Affordable Housing: Knowing
Your Local Non-Profit Utility Deregulation:
Don’t Get Zapped 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Disability Etiquette Financial Reports Community Lending Emerging Markets &
Community Lending Products 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Oklahoma “Home of Your
Own” Initiative New NEAt Demo Credit Reports Emerging Markets &
Community Lending Products NACAA
Annual Conference September 4-7 in Kansas City
“Excellence: The Bridge to Community Action’s Future” is
the theme for the National Association of Community Action Agencies (NACAA)
annual conference scheduled for Sept. 4-7 at the Destination Crown
Center in Kansas City, Missouri. For registration information, call 202-265-7546 or
contact NACAA at 1100 - 17th Street, N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC
20036. Executive Director John Buckstead announced several
new opportunities: •
Special half- and full-day
intensive training focusing on board of directors, faith-based
initiatives, leadership, and CAA management issues. •
Poverty Simulations and
workshops to teach you how to conduct a Poverty Simulation in your
community. • Announcement
of the Community Action brand -- a result of the association’s
branding campaign and plans to implement it nationwide. Marshall
named Housing Development Team Leader
John Marshall has been named
Housing Development Team leader at Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency,
responsible for overseeing housing programs that allocate more than $200
million annually in federal funds and other authorizations.
As team leader, Marshall will manage the Home Investment
Partnerships Program, housing tax credits program, mortgage revenue bond
program and housing trust fund.
Marshall recently served as Special
Initiatives Team leader at OHFA. He was responsible for identifying and
developing new and innovative housing programs for the agency.
Under Marshall’s leadership, OHFA was named Contract
Administrator for the state by the U.S. Department of Housing &
Urban Development, which will eventually allow the agency to help more
than 12,000 families with rent. Marshall
has a bachelor of science degree in accounting and is a certified public
accountant. His previous experience includes serving as assistant
director of finance at OHFA, as well as financial officer
responsibilities in retail, insurance, medical and construction
businesses. Disabilities concerns conference set
for Oct. 23 in Oklahoma City The
Oklahoma City Mayor’s Committee on Disability Concerns announces
“Banning Barriers” – the Sixth Annual Statewide Conference and
Exhibition on Disability Concerns and Awards Luncheon – is scheduled
for Oct. 23, at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City.
For
more information, contact Marisa New, conference chair, 405/550-5464. The
conference, which is held in conjunction with National Disability
Employment Awareness Month, will feature seminars for citizens with
disabilities in multiple areas. Scheduled
topics include medical breakthroughs, employment opportunities and
legislation. There
will be commercial exhibitors and organizations that provide equipment
and services to people with disabilities. People
with and without disabilities will be recognized for their contributions
to improve the lives of those with disabilities during a luncheon.
Heading into its second decade of existence, the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) has had a positive and pervasive impact on the
nation’s landscape. While gaining notoriety by making
wheelchair-accessible curbs and disabled-patron parking spaces a common
fixture of everyday life, the ADA has also had a dynamic impact relative
to public amenities and in the American workplace. Agency
news briefs
Three and four-year-old Head Start children in Shawnee raised
$810 for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital during the third annual
Trike-A-Thon, according to a report in Central Oklahoma Community Action Agency’s
newsletter, Notes & Quotes. Twenty-one children took part in the event by
riding tricycles and various other two and three-wheelers around the
roped-off oval. The top money raiser made a total of 300 laps. ----- Little Dixie Community Action Agency hosted
a planning session for southeast Oklahoma’s attempt to obtain an
Empowerment Zone designation, the Hugo Daily News reports. The Empowerment Zone status could bring millions in
federal grants and programs to boost the region’s sagging economy. -----
Southwest Oklahoma Community Action Group recently
conducted a community assessment in Mangum to identify community needs. ----- Little Dixie Community Action Agency, which
recently hosted a successful Group Workcamp, is scheduling
three more similar camps over the next three years in McCurtain, Choctaw
and Pushmataha counties, the McCurtain Sunday Gazette
reports. The Colorado-based Group Workcamp Foundation
brought in about 400 teens and their advisors to repair homes of
elderly, disabled and low-income residents of Idabel recently. Head
Start Collaboration Project meets goals, report says
The early childhood picture in Oklahoma has transformed over the
past five years from a low priority into a high priority of the state,
notes Kay Floyd, Director, Oklahoma Head Start Collaboration Project. In her final report on the five year project, Floyd
noted that when the project began in 1996, Oklahoma spent less on
pre-kindergarten programs than most other states in the Southern region. The current high priority of the state is evidenced
by the work of the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education
and legislative efforts to enact legislation establishing a statewide
coordinated system of services, she added. “The Oklahoma Head Start State Collaboration
Project’s first five years were designed to assist in the development
of significant, multi-agency and public-private partnerships between
Head Start and all interested programs in Oklahoma that provide services
to low-income young children and their families,” Floyd noted. Project goals included: •
fostering working
coalitions of federal and state officials, Head Start staff, and other
early childhood professionals; •
building linkages between
Head Start programs and state early childhood initiatives; •
serving as a facilitator
across the early childhood system to improve services to children from
low-income families; and, •
facilitating a more
coordinated approach to planning and service delivery in priority areas. “Overall, it is fair to say that the purposes and
goals of the first five years of the Oklahoma Head Start Collaboration
Project were accomplished,” Floyd added. Region
VI Head Start Annual Conference Oct. 15 – 19
Oklahoma City will play host to the Region VI Head Start
Association Annual Conference scheduled for Oct. 15-19. The opening general session on Tuesday, Oct. 16,
will feature Maurice Sykes from the Early Childhood Leadership Institute
as keynote speaker. Barbara Bowman from the Erikson Institute will be
the featured speaker on Wednesday with National Head Start
Association’s Ron Herndon closing out the conference on Friday
morning. Workshop sessions are scheduled on Wednesday and
Thursday as is a tradeshow. For additional information, check out the
conference web site at: www.reg6hsa.org. Head
Start Annual Report, Directory & Fact Sheet issued
A trio of publications about the Oklahoma Head Start programs is
now available. The Annual Report draws on program information
reports submitted by Head Start grantees to provide an overview of
activities in Oklahoma. The report provides statistics on enrollment,
number of classes and staff as well as state and federal dollars going
to Head Start. The report also contains a color map showing the service
areas for the grantees plus a list of contacts for the programs. A
report on the State Collaboration Project is included as is a look at
Head Start in the next decade. The Head Start Directory contains a wealth of
information on the programs. There is information on the grantees plus a
list of area staff. Maps show the locations of the Head Start centers.
The directory also contains information on the American Indian programs. The Fact Sheet is designed to provide a brief
statistical overview of Oklahoma’s Head Start programs. Again, using
data supplied on program information reports, the Fact Sheet provides a
breakdown of actual enrollment by age and by racial/ethnic composition.
There is information on federal and state appropriated funding for the
Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Other statistics in the Fact
Sheet focus on medical and dental services, family facts and services
provided to Head Start families. All
three publications are available from the Oklahoma Association of
Community Action Agencies by calling 405-524-4124. Ted Allen Award Nominees
Sought Nominations
for the Ted Allen Award are now being accepted. This award is presented
annually to an Oklahoma Weatherization and Housing Advisory Council (OWHAC)
member, who has gone above and beyond there normal job duties to help
further the cause of providing low income families with safe, decent and
affordable housing, as in the tradition set by Ted Allen.
Anyone wishing to nominate an individual for the award can do so
by sending a nomination letter to: John
Jones, CCAP
The nominee must be a OWHAC member to be eligible for this award.
Deadline is Aug. 17, 2001. Weatherization
Works
As the weather turns colder and the north wind starts howling, my home feels like a freezer because the old windows and doors do not protect us against these yearly invaders. I try stuffing rags, saran wrap and aluminum foil in the openings around the windows. I stuff towels under the doors, tape one door shut with a large sheet of plastic, and cover another door with a blanket in a futile attempt to keep the cold out and the heat in the house. I turn up the heater in an attempt to keep warm. But when I received my gas bill later that month, I gasp and worry how I am going to pay it. I conclude that I need to repair my doors and windows, but I am on a fixed income and cannot afford to repair the problem. I am at my wit’s end and I pray that spring will soon arrive. Then one day my DHS counselor informs me about the Weatherization Assistance Program available in my area and how it can help solve some of my problems. I decide to submit an application for weatherization services to my local Community Action Agency. Emma Delk, a Comanche County resident, described these facts about her home when Ed Alexander from the Great Plains Improvement Foundation’s Weatherization Program came to conduct an assessment for services. The initial blower door test, which showed a very high reading of 8000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of air movement, revealed air leaks at every window, door, wall and ceiling cracks, under the sinks and around the baseboards. The settling of the house, which caused the large gaps around the windows and doors, was the main cause of the air leakage problems. This settling problem was also responsible for the large cracks in the exterior brick veneer. The attic inspection revealed about 2 inches of rock wool insulation but remarkably the walls had adequate insulation. The results of the Neat Energy Audit recommended air infiltration reduction, installation of 10 inches of cellulose insulation in the attic, two replacement doors, and a heater tune-up for the Delk home. Materials totaling $648.44 were purchased and installed in the home. Great Plains Improvement Foundation’s Weatherization subcontractors, Willie Stovall and Don Bobbit, installed quarter round wood trim and caulk around the interior of each window to close all the air leaks. The exterior brick veneer was repointed with mortar to eliminate any possible air leaks. One opening with a non-working window air conditioner was removed and sealed with plywood, foam insulation and caulk. Jamb-up weather-stripping and a door sweep were installed on the door leading to the garage. Two exterior doors were replaced with new units to eliminate the air leakage problems. All the cracks in the ceiling and walls were sealed with a dry wall patch. The subcontractors also installed 1120 square feet of cellulose insulation in the attic to achieve an R-30 rating.
At the final inspection conducted by
Weatherization Director, the blower door test indicated a reading of
only 1500 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of air movement.
A reduction of 6500 cfm from the initial reading was realized.
Another weatherization success story, but it does not stop here.
During a monitoring visit by Janet Walker from the Oklahoma
Department of Commerce, the Delk home was selected for a visit.
She was pleased by the work of the subcontractors on the house.
Ms. Delk expressed her satisfaction for the work that was
completed on her home and the resulting savings on energy usage.
As Janet was leaving, Ms Delk gave her a big hug and again
thanked her. This show of
affection by Ms. Delk makes our weatherization work most rewarding. Little Dixie transit serves many customers
Little Dixie Transit fleet of vehicles and staff continues to
grow as the Community Action Agency serves increasing numbers of
clients. During the past two years, the transit system staff
has grown from 25 to nearly 60 and the number of vehicles has reached
65, says Shirley Cooley, director. Piling up more than 1.5 million miles per year, the
buses, vans and autos shuttle people to school, jobs, medical
appointments, airports, and just around town. The transit system has call centers in Hugo,
Idabel, Antlers and Broken Bow to dispatch vehicles. Idabel’s call
center receives up to 200 calls daily from people needing rides, Cooley
said. The transit system provides demand response
services from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Little Dixie Transit has contracts with the
Oklahoma Department of Human Services to provide transportation for
clients receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to work or job
training. Up to 50 Medicaid recipients use transit vehicles
to get to medical appointments in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Fort Smith and
Dallas through the Sooner Ride program. Little Dixie is one of 20 transit systems
throughout the state participating in the Road to Work program that
provides job access transportation. KiBois Community Action is the lead
agency in that statewide program. The system even has a contract with the City of
Hugo to transport inmates to work, Cooley said. Other vans transport Head Start students to classes
and developmentally disabled clients to sheltered workshops. Cooley is an 18 year veteran of Little Dixie
although she has been transit system director for less than three years. Among the challenges facing her is how to pay the
rising fuel bill. With four months remaining in the budget year, the
program had already exhausted its $96,000 fuel allotment. Little Dixie coordinates senior volunteer program
Little Dixie Community Action’s Retired and Senior Volunteer
Program (RSVP) is helping nearly 1,000 senior citizens keep active while
serving their communities. According to RSVP Program Director Shirley Routon,
the seniors volunteered over 74,000 hours during the first three months
of the year. “For some it has almost become a job,” she
said. The program is open to residents age 55 and older.
They are asked to volunteer at least 20 hours monthly. The Little Dixie RSVP Rhythm Band performs monthly
at nursing homes in Hugo. The oldest member of the band is in his
70s, Routon said. The group plays anything from gospel to country music. Another group of volunteers known as Telephone
Buddies call each other daily to check up on the group members. If
someone doesn’t answer the phone, the volunteer calls for help. About
30 seniors, who stay mostly at home, participate, Routon said. Other RSVP members volunteer to help in public
schools, nursing homes, hospitals, nutrition centers and libraries.
There are 80 sites in the three county area at which the seniors can
volunteer to work. “Whatever they have to offer, we try to find a
place for them,” she added. One
Stop Capital Shop source for business assistance
Potential entrepreneurs can obtain information on a wide variety
of businesses at the One Stop Capital Shop and Business Information
Center located in Hugo. Little Dixie Community Action is partnering with
the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, U.S. Small Business Administration
(SBA), Oklahoma Small Business Development Center, Rural Enterprises,
Inc., and the Choctaw Nation to provide business assistance and capital
to create jobs in southeast Oklahoma. The center is one of 22 in the nation and the only
one in Oklahoma. Established four years ago, the center offers a
wide variety of services to potential business owners, explained Jim
Stewart, center manager. “They can do research here and get technical
assistance,” explained Stewart. There is a library with information on 130
different types of business provided by the SBA. Business plans can be
developed using state-of-the-art computers. On-site business counseling
designed to meet the operation needs of small businesses is available. In addition to providing technical assistance,
center staff members can help potential business owners obtain
financing. Examples of businesses started with help from the
center include a donut shop, a turtle farm and a convenience store. Little Dixie houses the One
Stop Capital Shop in its building
in Hugo. SBA provided much of the equipment and computer software.
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