Rising to the Challenge

A message from the Executive Director

By Leslie Naramore,
Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash

It would be easy to classify the events of 2020 as ‘unprecedented’, but the fact is, they’re not. Our entire history has been leading to this moment. It would seem that the pandemic was the match that lit the fuse but these are all issues that have been bubbling to the surface for centuries. It turns out our safety nets were not as secure as we thought.  Many families already live paycheck to paycheck and so the effects of missing just one were devastating. 

We know that COVID-19 and the crisis of living in poverty disproportionately affects people of color and what we saw in our communities was no different than what we witnessed nationally. Community Action was birthed as part of the War on Poverty and the crisis then really wasn’t much different than the crisis we now face. 

“Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope--some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity,” said President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union Address on January 8, 1964. "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it." This work is as necessary now as it was then. 

I am comforted by all of the togetherness that I’ve seen even as we were encouraged to spend time apart. 2020 was a year of uncertainty. Life in 2020 vacillated deeply between highs and lows; the lows of knowing seniors who were unable to get to the grocery store or school children isolated from peers, to the highs of new partnerships forged to provide better services and funders going out of their way to get us COVID-19 response money as quickly as possible. 

From the initial lockdown in March, which saw schools and businesses close, we did our best to adapt. Health and safety protocols were put in place and staff had to work quickly to adjust to the new normal, many while also homeschooling their children. People who had never had to utilize our services before suddenly found themselves in need of our Food Banks and other programs. People turned to us for help paying rent, or their electric bill, or getting internet services installed at home so their child could participate in their online classes. 

Staff stepped up to the challenges brought on by the pandemic immediately and without complaint. Our new normal was met with dedication to getting the job done and I’m so proud of each and every one of them. Our agency usually functions with an average of 35 employees, in response to new programs and emerging needs we suddenly had 44 employees. 

Our communities also stepped up for us in a big way. Our COVID-19 Relief Fund was largely financed by donations from all of you and we were not at all surprised to see donations come rolling in because as we’ve seen time and again, this community cares.