Registration for the 2017 Poverty Matters! Conference is now open. You may register and pay online or by mail. Go to the Poverty Matters! website for conference details, the final agenda and more.
WISCAP has named Brad Paul as the new Executive Director. Please consult this Press Release for details.
I’ve found myself this week in more of a reflective mood than usual. Easily understood; my time as Executive Director at WISCAP is ending with the month of June as I head into retirement. And in my thoughts, surprisingly, I have found myself having something in common with White House Chief-of-Staff Reince Priebus. We both consider ourselves “blessed.” Although, respectfully, I would offer that I have a more legitimate rationale for this emotion.
I feel blessed because I have been able to spend my entire career of 40 years in
service to Community Action; working to help advance economic self-sufficiency for our low-income neighbors and doing so in the company of some of the finest and most dedicated public servants to be found anywhere.
The underpinning of Community Action, when created as part of the 1960’s War on Poverty, was that poverty is best attacked through decisions made by local communities, fought on the local level, with access to resources across the spectrum: federal, state, local and private. That underpinning has not changed; it remains as valid and as powerful today as it did when I cashed my first paycheck from CAP Services, headquartered in Stevens Point, back in 1977.
Community Action Agencies in Wisconsin – and across the nation – are doing tremendous work: helping create jobs and businesses for low-income individuals, giving a Head Start to those in pre-school, building housing and making existing housing more energy efficient, providing transitional assistance to the homeless, being a resource for food and other emergency assistance, and on and on.
Last year, in 2016, Wisconsin’s Community Action Agencies served over 212,000 individuals. And they did it in partnership with their local community organizations, churches and businesses. It doesn’t matter if the community is urban or rural. It doesn’t matter if the community is Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative. Community Action continues to work in partnership with all.
Over the years, I have seen this work expand and solidify. And I have seen agencies grow more innovative as they have learned more about the root causes of poverty, tried new approaches and pursued new directions – and as they have been forced to do more even as the resources available for this work have been shrinking.
All of that is growth and change for the better. But I have also seen a change in our society’s attitudes on poverty that has not been for the better. As a nation, we used to wage war on poverty. Now we seem more often to be waging war on poor people.
I don’t have an explanation on why this is. Perhaps those of us in Community Action have done less than required in our core responsibility of educating the public on poverty and the reality faced by households infected by this disease. Perhaps there is so much fear and stress in our society today that many turn easily to attacking those with less as a twisted sort of defense mechanism.
Whatever the cause, it is tragic and it is totally wrong. I have met hundreds of low-income families and individuals over my career and I have found myself constantly in awe of their strength and courage in dealing with their circumstances. Waking up every morning facing the stress of getting through that one day. Will there be enough food on the table? Will the car make it to work without breaking down? How to afford medical care for a sick child? Will the rent or mortgage be covered this month; will there still be a roof over the family? Will the children be safe in a less than ideal neighborhood? And then going to bed every night sighing with exhaustion from surviving another day, with nothing left to give for the dreams and longer-term goals of a brighter future down the road.
Instead of attacking those in poverty, as if they have willingly chosen the life they are forced to live; we should, instead, honor their fortitude, respect their struggles, and re-commit ourselves to providing the tools that are needed to make the American dream a reality for all.
The author John Donne famously wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” We are all in this together. Not one of us will be able to reach the full potential of our own dreams until we all make sure that opportunities to reach that same potential exist for everyone else.
I know that Community Action Agencies will continue to strive towards that goal of inclusion and equal opportunity. And I am just as confident that WISCAP, under its new leadership, will continue to be at their side in that struggle.
If I have one parting wish, it is that our society, as a whole, will dedicate itself to engaging once again in a serious and comprehensive ‘War on Poverty’ and that we will do so with sufficient resources and with love and respect for our low-income friends and neighbors.
Bob Jones
June 29, 2017
Couleecap, Inc. has announced the hiring of a new executive director, Hetti Brown, to succeed Grace Jones, who has been the Community Action Agency’s leader since 1986 and is retiring in July.
Hetti comes to Couleecap from the Deleware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, where she was the executive director of the Office of Animal Welfare. In that role, Hetti led her team to develop social service programs for pet owners with low incomes and to address emerging issues concerning community health and welfare. Among her accomplishments, Hetti reformed the state emergency response and sheltering program for people with pets, chaired a state task force to help people with mental health disorders, and conducted research to inform outreach efforts and programs for persons receiving public assistance. She also worked closely with state and county lawmakers to author and pass laws establishing new state services, launched job skill programs for youth and adult offenders, and developed training for judges, law enforcement officers, and field case workers.
Hetti recently relocated to La Crosse to join her husband, an Assistant Professor in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. However, Hetti is not new to the Midwest. She grew up in a rural farming community in Northeast Missouri and attended college in Southern Illinois.
In announcing Hetti’s hiring, current Executive Director Grace Jones said, “Hetti’s firsthand knowledge of poverty from experience as a child, as well as her work in the non-profit and public sectors, have inspired her passion for helping people by tackling the root causes of poverty in a compassionate and respectful manner. Hetti is guided by core principles, which she carries into every role: center one’s focus on the people being served; build barrier-free programs; invest in organizational culture; and cultivate diverse community partnerships. As the new director of Couleecap, Hetti will focus on ensuring sound business acumen, securing the future for the organization through innovation and fundraising, fostering the culture to build employee engagement and effectiveness, and engaging the community to situate Couleecap as the premier Community Action Agency in Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP) held its annual meeting on May 22-24, celebrating Community Action Month. As part of this event, WISCAP hosted its 2017 Annual Luncheon and Awards Program on Tuesday, May 23rd. The association presented these awards on behalf of its network of sixteen Community Action Agencies, the Foundation for Rural Housing and United Migrant Opportunities Services (UMOS) so as to recognize individuals or organizations who have gone above and beyond in helping to improve and further the goals of Community Action in Wisconsin in fighting poverty.
WISCAP’s Outstanding Advocate Award was given to Dr. Ken Adler of Eau 
Claire, who was nominated by the Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council (WDEOC). Dr. Adler was recognized for his exemplary leadership advancing the causes and principles of Community Action through his efforts in support of transportation resources or low-income, his activities in helping to address homelessness in the local area, and his numerous volunteer activities. Dr. Adler also was the founder of the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic in 1997, where he served as medical director for 13 years and where he still volunteers as a physician.
WISCAP’s Outstanding Friend of Community Action Award 
was presented to the Hofmeister family and their team at Spectra Print in Stevens Point. Spectra\ Print was nominated by CAP Services due to their generosity to the cause of Community Action through their donation of tens of thousands of dollars in printing and services over the years.
WISCAP’s Exceptional Community Action Staff Member Award, which recognizes a Community Action employee who has demonstrated the spirit of Community Action, went to Mr. Randy Roemhild of 
West CAP. Randy was given the award posthumously, having passed away suddenly earlier this year. He received this recognition for this excellent work as West CAP’s Jump Start / Ideal Auto Manager, helping to provide over 500 reliable, late-model Jump Start cars for the families in West CAP’s 7-county, northwest Wisconsin service area.
WISCAP’s Self-Sufficiency Award is meant to recognize an individual who, with the aid of their local Community Action Agency,
has overcome poverty and achieved self-sufficiency. The 2017 award went to Ms. Alice Griffin of Neenha, Wisconsin. Alice is a single mother of five children who, with the help of CAP Services, her local CAA, was able to find a job closer to home, refinance her house, and get her finances under control. Alice’s success in overcoming her barriers to self-sufficiency embody what Community Action aims to do day-in and day-out.
In addition to the above awards, WISCAP recognized the achievements of two members of the association’s Board of Directors who will be retiring. Jim Martinez, Executive Vice President at United Migrant Opportunities Services (UMOS) represented UMOS on the Board from 2010 to 2017. Grace Jones, Executive Director at Couleecap, Inc. in western Wisconsin, is stepping down after thirty-one years as Executive Director and as a Board member for WISCAP. This page will have more to say about Grace’s career before she leaves in early July.
In addition to WISCAP’s awards, Kris Randall, Division Administrator for the Department of Children and Families (DCF), presented the 2017 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Community Action to CAP Services for their success in using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to expand affordable housing in rural communities. The central Wisconsin Community Action Agency has completed twenty-one (21) LIHTC projects focused on senior citizens and families in eleven (11) rural counties. The Governor’s award is chosen from 
nominations submitted to DCF by a joint committee of staff from the department and the Governor’s Office. Selection is made in accordance with six program criteria and the award is presented to an outstanding program that characterizes the spirit of Community Action by helping eliminate poverty and giving families hope.
WISCAP appreciates all those who attended and participated in this year’s Annual Luncheon and Awards Program. We all look forward to continued accomplishments in the Community Action world during the remainder of 2017.
