The Community Action Partnership: Our vision to end poverty in America

by Don Mathis

Founded in 1972, the Community Action Partnership grew out of President Lyndon Johnson's commitment to significantly reduce poverty in America. The landmark Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 established more than 1,000 Community Action Agencies (CAAs) in urban, rural, and suburban areas across America.

Forty-five years later, these CAAs continue to provide services and work for economic security for low-income families and individuals, ranging from pre-school children to older adults. CAAs operate feeding programs and food banks; provide housing, foreclosure avoidance, home heating, and energy assistance; manage Head Start, child development, and family support programs; sponsor workforce training for youth and adults, and manage many more programs. Our Community Action movement lives our Promise:

Community Action changes people's lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.

The Community Action Partnership is the national membership organization that serves as a voice on behalf of and provides resources to the 1,000+ CAAs (two-thirds are non-profit agencies; one-third are public/municipal agencies). In 2007, Community Action provided services and opportunities to more than 17 million poor individuals and children in our nation.

As part of our commitment to fight the causes of poverty, The Community Action Partnership has joined AARP, the Business Roundtable, the Service Employees International Union, and the National Federation of Independent Business in Divided We Fail.

Right now, more than 45 million Americans lack health insurance and millions more lack the resources to ensure long-term financial security. This has dire consequences for everyone but especially the poor and other vulnerable populations. With the Divided We Fail initiative, the Community Action Partnership will have the opportunity to make our elected officials hear loud and clear, through our collective voice, that immediate bi-partisan solutions are needed to address these urgent issues.

This kind of advocacy and collaborative activity has made Divided We Fail a perfect fit with our mission, day-to-day activities, and core values. As a result of our partnership and shared goals, The Community Action Partnership is finding different ways to incorporate Divided We Fail into our activities. Last year at our annual conference in Chicago, Tom Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of AARP, gave the keynote address and Divided We Fail held a panel discussion called Economic Security in Insecure Times. We have also added links to Divided We Fail into our own newsletter to staff members at 1,000 Community Action Agencies (CAA) across the county.

By embracing the Divided We Fail message and joining with these other organizations to work collectively on issues such as healthcare and financial security, The Community Action Partnership believes we can succeed and bring immediate and effective solutions to these problems. Let's work together to achieve a brighter more financially secure and healthy future.

Don Mathis is CEO and President of Community Action Partnership.