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MYCAP mobilizes to serve families in need
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Marilyn McDaniel, MYCAP interim chief operating officer.
YOUNGSTOWN
Moving families from poverty to economic success.
That, in a nutshell, is the ultimate goal of the Center for Family Economic Success, a new Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership initiative, said Marilyn McDaniel, the agency’s interim chief operating officer.
The Center for Family Economic Success — or CFES — is an umbrella organization within MYCAP that will coordinate and integrate the agency’s programs and develop new collaborations with other community organizations to provide support for individuals and families trying to become financially self-sufficient, she said.
“One of the key phrases in the Economic Opportunity Act passed in 1964 is to “‘mobilize all available resources’ to address poverty situations. It doesn’t mean operating categorical grant programs alone. We need to collaborate with our partners in the community and develop new services when needed, or we are not serving our own mission,” she said.
Under the umbrella concept, the agency, with its array of services, won’t just help people make it through the day but make it out of poverty. That is MYCAP’s core mission, said McDaniel, part of the team hired by the MYCAP board of directors to head the search committee for a new executive director and review agency policies and procedures.
MYCAP had been under investigation by the Ohio Department of Development, which led to the firing of former Executive Director Richard Roller III.
David Arnold, president and chief executive officer of Family Service Agency and a member of the organization’s board of directors, was a member of the planning committee that recommended development of CFES to the full board.
The center is a means of tying together the thoughts and philosophies of all of MYCAP’s programs into the mission of the whole organization, he said.
Another issue the board is working on is development of better collaborative working arrangements with other agencies, such as United and Family Service, to help reduce poverty, Arnold said.
“CFES is based on the principle that if you come in the door and you’re hungry, we’ll feed you; and then we’ll teach you how to feed yourself,” McDaniel said.
The center’s purpose is to provide a framework to get people on their feet financially so they can rely less and less on public benefits, McDaniel said.
There are thousands in the community who could benefit, but the plan is to start with about 100 families and replace them as they graduate out of the program. They may be in the program four months or two years, McDaniel said.
She acknowledged that the poor condition of the economy, particularly in the Mahoning Valley, makes the job tougher.
The practical goals include helping people establish a relationship with a bank, establish credit, and receive employment training and placement, she said.
People who don’t have a bank and don’t have credit can’t qualify for a loan for a car to get to work or to buy a home, which is a major part of the American dream, McDaniel said.
The center will coordinate with community purpose-based organizations, inside of MYCAP and out, to get people what they need to succeed, she said.
“We want to make it easier to access services ... not easier to take advantage, but to appropriately use all the public support available,” she said.
The CFES will help the client develop a customized recovery plan that could include asset-building, repairing and rebuilding credit and a budget, she said.
For some, the process will be stressful because they need to accept change. They have been backed into a pattern of hopelessness for a long time — sometimes for generations, McDaniel said.
“We will help reduce the stress by providing a supportive environment and chipping away at the barriers,” she said. “I truly believe in hopefulness. Clients have to want to change the way they live, their goals, and their acceptance of hopelessness and believe things can get better.”