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Community Action Agencies provide tax filing assistance
    Low and medium-income families received earned income and child tax credits worth thousands of dollars with help from Oklahoma’s Community Action Agencies.
    Northeast Oklahoma Community Action Agency (NEOCAA) in Jay helped about 130 families file federal and state tax returns with total refunds reaching nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
    “It was just incredible,” said Diana Behm, Economic Development Coordinator. “One of the first refunds was nearly $4,000.”
    The Internal Revenue Service provided NEOCAA with six laptop computers, two laser printers, and software necessary to prepare and e-file the tax returns. The IRS also provided training for the agency staff.
    Behm described a typical client as a single parent with two children making between $15,000 
and $18,000 annually. 
    The average refund was $1,934.
    In addition to helping prepare the tax return, NEOCAA staff encouraged eligible clients to save part of the refund by participating in the Individual Development Accounts program.
    The NEOCAA staff took their computers to Head Start centers. 
    “The Parent Council could decide when they wanted preparers to come and the Head Start families spread the word to the community,” Behm said.
    In the beginning, it took over an hour to prepare a single tax return. By the time tax filing seasons was winding down, NEOCAA preparers could complete a return in about 20 minutes.
    At Big Five Community Services in Durant, Administrative Programs Coordinator Beth Parker has been preparing tax returns for 17 years. This is the second year she has been able to e-file returns.
    She completed about 225 returns this year. While many people come back year after year for help with their return, Parker said she saw a lot of new people this year thanks to weekly articles in the local newspaper.
    While assisting people with their tax return, Parker said she also referred some to other Big Five programs such as Head Start and Workforce.
    Parker said she normally helps people who need to file only simple tax returns.
    Some tax preparers offer tax refunds quickly -- which are in reality short term loans with fees and a high interest rate.
    “I know I just saved people who walked in at least $50,” Parker said.
    Teresa Williams, RSVP Director at Southwest Oklahoma Community Action Group in Altus, said a volunteer prepared 45 returns for individuals primarily in the Altus area.
    “We did basic returns for low to medium-income individuals,” she explained.
    Southwest promoted the free service with posters placed in the post office, day care centers, library, Department of Human Services office and Salvation Army.
    Juanita Brown who is a Community Organizer for Washita Valley Community Action Council in Chickasha has been doing tax returns for 22 years now.
    Now 69-years-old, Brown said she did about 30 returns this year mostly for low-income and Head Start families. Refunds ranged from $200 to $4,000 on the returns she did.
    Word-of-mouth is her only source of advertising.
    Ann Ricketts, Community Services Director for Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma/Canadian Counties, said her staff helped prepare and electronically file tax returns for 163 families.
    Of those, 151 received refunds, she said. Twelve were referred to the Individual Development Account program.
    In addition, Ricketts said Community Action staff helped 96 senior citizens apply for the $40 state sales tax refund.
    The tax assistance was provided to low-income families at the agency’s six district centers.
    Trish Jackson, Program Specialist at Great Plains Improvement Foundation in Lawton, said she filled out about 175 returns with the average refund of $3,200.
    She would even go to the homes of disabled clients, pick up their papers, come back to the office to complete the forms, and then take the completed returns back to the home for signature. 

CARD partners with faith-based group to continue transit program for elderly
    Community Action Resource & Development (CARD) operated a small transit system off and on for years. But as costs soared and funding dwindled, the agency needed to find a partner to continue the service in Coweta, explained Georgene Zachary, Executive Director.
    “We couldn’t afford to keep it,” Zachary said. “But we found a way to fill the gap by partnering with a faith-based group,” she added.
    The Coweta Ministerial Alliance established the Ministerial Alliance Transportation Service to offer weekday service to elderly residents who have no means of transportation.
    Nine local churches vans and volunteer drivers provide rides for seniors to purchase groceries, make local doctor appointments, and to participate in the Deep Fork lunch program.
    CARD handles the scheduling of rides through its Coweta satellite office. Zachary said they get an average of 10 calls daily. The seniors are asked to schedule rides 24 hours in advance.
    Launched in March, there is no fee charged to the elderly riders.
    “The churches really rallied around us,” Zachary said.
    Service is limited to Coweta, a community of about 7,000. Zachary said if the program is successful, it may be replicated in other communities.
    “It is possible to continue providing services by partnering,” Zachary said. “The faith-based organization really came through.”

CADC starting housing & youth programs
    Community Action Development Corporation (CADC) is launching a pair of housing programs in tornado-devastated Cordell plus a youth-focused programs in Frederick.
    CADC Executive Director Brent Morey said the agency hopes to build 20-25 new housing units beginning this summer.
    The agency is currently lining up developers and working with city officials on infrastructure issues.
    A self-help housing program is also in the development stage for Cordell. The agency has opened an office in the community and is currently qualifying applicants for the program, Morey said.
    CADC has also recently obtained a grant from the Office of Juvenile Affairs to work with the faith-based community to develop a youth basketball league and character enrichment program.
    Morey expects 15 churches and about 75 - 100 youngsters to participate in this summer program.
    CADC will be providing the facility for the games and oversight. On game nights, Morey said he expects to bring in speakers to talk on issues such as drug abuse.

Victor Magallon working with Hispanic families
    Cookson Hills Community Action is striving to meet the needs of a growing Hispanic population in its service area with the assistance of Multicultural Family Partnership Manager Victor Magallon.
    “The Hispanic population in the Tahlequah area has increased immensely over the last five years due to expansion of local nurseries,” said Laurie Gassaway, Family & Community Specialist. “We had to find someone who could work with our Hispanic families and make them feel a part of our program,” she added.
    Magallon, who was raised in Mexico City, began working with 15 families with children enrolled in Head Start, who speak no English six months ago.
    “Victor has done an amazing job in such a short time -- his families respect him and he works hard for them,” Gassaway said.
    Magallon studied commercial art at Maryland University and worked as a graphic artist for 25 years. He served as a missionary to Mexico for 10 years in the production of Christian literature in Spanish.
    “I have enjoyed the opportunity to help our Spanish-speaking friends to feel a part of our community. They have much to offer and I am glad that I can be a part of the process of their integration to our society,” Magallon said.

Little Dixie senior housing project featured in annual report
    An article about Little Dixie Community Action’s renovation of the Rouleau Hotel in Idabel for senior citizen housing was included in the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and the NeighborWorks Network 2001 Annual Report.
    Little Dixie has long been known throughout Oklahoma as a tremendously successful developer of properties, communities and people, the article notes.
    Rehab of the hotel cost more than $1.9 million, with $1 million of the funding provided by a Rural Development loan, and the balance coming from low-income housing tax credits, a HOME grant, private funds and Enterprise Community funds.

Deep Fork offers ‘Be A Better Renter’ program
    Deep Fork Executive Director Jeff Schuman has developed a “Be a Better Renter” program that he recently presented to nine women at the Okmulgee County Family Resource Center.
    During the hour and one-half presentation, he broke down the Oklahoma Landlord and Tenant Act into understandable terms.

Center offers Head Start, day care & after school program
    When the Catoosa Public School system needed more classroom space, the Community Action Resource and Development (CARD) Head Start program found itself looking for a new home.
    After considering options, CARD opted to borrow money from the bank to purchase an existing day care center, explained Georgene Zachary, executive director.
    The center was licensed for 150 children but had an enrollment of about 100. CARD added an Early Head Start and a Head Start class and kept the day care program.
    Known as Spunky Creek Early Learning Center, the Head Start and day care programs have separate directors.       When children are no longer eligible for Head Start, they cross over the hall and enter the day care program, Zachary said.
    The center also offers an after school program for children up to 12 years of age.
    The day care and after school programs are operated as a private business with its own staff. 
    Zachary said the agency had previously purchased day care centers and converted them into Head Start centers.

New Head Start Center opens 
    Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma/Canadian Counties opened the New Heights Head Start Center in Bethany recently. The center is licensed for 90 children and will offer both Head Start and day care for infants through school age children.

Construction begins on family housing project
    Muskogee County Community Action Foundation partnered with Zimmerman Investment, LLC, to construct 72 family housing units. Contributing $640,000 from a HOME grant, Muskogee County will be a 7% equity partner in the project.
    The project will feature, one, two and three-bedroom units that will range in size from 700 to almost 1,200 square feet.

Apartment complex for seniors opens in Muskogee
    Summer Ridge Apartment Homes are providing much-needed housing for senior citizens thanks to Muskogee County Community Action Foundation.
    The 60-unit complex has been rapidly filling up since construction was completed last fall.
    Viki Shedd, resident manager and a member of the Muskogee County Community Action Foundation Board of Directors, said there are plenty of activities to promote social interaction among residents.
    A community garage sale was planned in early May. The first Tuesday of each month residents from a different floor sponsor a luncheon for all tenants. Then on the third Thursday, Viki does a luncheon with help from Community Action.
    The complex features common areas with kitchen facilities and piano, a fitness room, a book and video exchange and outdoor cooking grills.
    One unit was set aside where a mentally challenged can live for up to two years without paying rent.
Muskogee County Community Action Foundation provided part of the funding for the $3.5 million project and is a 2% equity partner in the project.

Cookout caps ‘Week of the Early Child’ observance
    The Maysville Early Learning Center capped off its “Week of the Young Child” observance with a cookout.
Other activities during the weeklong observance include distributing “parent survival kits”, a balloon launch, face painting, and flower planting.
    The Center is a collaborative effort of Delta Community Action and the Maysville Public Schools.

Deep Fork partners to create a community garden
    Deep Fork Community Action’s McIntosh County office is partnering with the OSU Extension office, the McIntosh County Coalition for a Healthy Community and others to start a community garden project in Eufaula, reports Sherry McConnell, County Coordinator.
    “Produce from this garden will go to local needy residents, distributed from the local food pantries,” she explained.
OG&E has annually donated funds to provide garden seed vouchers for low-income residents. 
    “This year part of that money will go to fund our community garden,” McConnell explained.
    The Corps of Engineers has given permission to use land located at the south end of Eufaula. The City of Eufaula, she noted, has agreed to provide water to the garden at no charge.
    Other groups supporting the effort include the OSU Extension office who did soil testing, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and 4-H Club who are providing volunteers to help work the garden.
    Many local residents have also volunteered their time, McConnell reported. She is asking local businesses to donate gardening tools and water hoses.
    McConnell said she is working on a five year plan for the garden. Some of the planned improvements include an educational section for young children and handicapped-friendly gardening plots.
    “This is a work in progress,” she said. 

Elderly/handicapped apartment community opens in Tahlequah
    Ribbon cutting ceremonies were held recently for Savannah Park -- an elderly/handicapped apartment community in Tahlequah.
    The U.S. Department of Agriculture/Rural Development and Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency through Cookson Hills Community Action Foundation provided financing for the $1 million plus project.
    The complex features 20 one-bedroom and 4 two-bedroom floor plans. Each apartment is designed for energy efficiency and equipped with an emergency alarm system, and washer and dryer hookups. Rent is based on income. 
    The project is constructed on 2.4 acres.
    A community room is provided for residents with a laundry facility.