Western Community Action (WCA)

Complete program information is included in schedule o. Community and family support program: wca assists individuals and families in crisis with emergency food services at our food shelves in marshall, tracy, westbrook, and heron lake. There were no fees charged to individuals served. Food shelves are open each week and services are available at other times by appointment. Wca assists households with homelessness prevention and assistance services by providing direct assistance for emergency shelter (motel voucher) assistance, first month's rent or deposit, utility deposit and transportation assistance, etc. Households assisted also receive support services from trained case managers in developing a plan toward self-sufficiency. Wca assists low- income households with free tax preparation assistance services. Taxpayers received free preparation, free electronic filing, and direct deposit when available. Community transit of Western Community Action utilizes bus and volunteer drivers to transport all residents of lincoln, lyon, redwood, cottonwood and jackson counties. Surveillance cameras have been installed in all buses to increase security. Additional passenger shelters were purchased to put along scheduled route stops. Community transit continues to focus on ways to increase transportation resources so people can access local and out of area services at an affordable rate. Head start: for 49 years, our head start program has served preschool-aged children whose family incomes are at or below the federal poverty level. To respond to the individual needs of families, our program offers head start services in classrooms or in home-based settings with services delivered by home visitors. Children participate in high-quality educational activities in a safe environment where they receive healthy meals and snacks. All children receive annual physical and dental exams, hearing, vision, and immunization screening and ongoing growth and learning assessments. Head start is a fully inclusive program. Wca head start observes and records children's cognitive and social development using high scope cor as the assessment tool.head start parents are actively involved in supporting their children's health and education and receive support to enrich parenting skills and access needed family services. Families served received needed parent/family education services and/or emergency/crisis assistance. Parents also have opportunities to become involved in setting the direction and policies of the program through participation in parent committees and parent council. The weatherization program is a grant program that provides services to assist income eligible households with energy repairs to make them more efficient. Services include diagnostic testing, furnace repair and replacement, water heater repairs and insulation. The energy assistance program provides home heating assistance, emergency assistance and repair of old and unsafe heating systems to income qualifying households. The small cities development program provides financial assistance for low to moderate income individuals who are residing in substandard housing. This program encourages the improvement of the general appearance and value of the housing stock while making a visible and substantial improvement upon the quality of life and appearance of the Community. This program offers grant funds owner-occupied, commercial and rental property owners. This program can provide upgrades to properties, helping them to meet code requirements. The murl program offers homeownership to "at risk" households at a 0% interest, no down payment, and contract for deed. This program is aimed at first-time homebuyers with certain exemptions. With funding provided by the mn housing finance agency, wca, Inc. Purchases homes to be rehabilitated and sold to qualifying buyers. Mn housing finance agency also offers loan programs for low income single family homeowners in need of improvements that directly affect the safety, livability, or energy efficiency of the home. The rehabilitation loan program is a residential, deferred, 0% interest loan up to 27,000. Minnesota housing also created the emergency and accessibility loan program to finance repairs resulting from situations or conditions that could cause or have caused a home to become uninhabitable that offers a deferred, 0% interest loan for low- income households in an emergency situation up to 15,000. Big buddies works with disadvantaged and "at-risk" youth, ages 5-18, helping them to grow up healthy and safe; equipped for college, work or military service; prepared for marriage, family and parenting; and equipped for Community service and civic engagement. Big buddies recruits, screens and trains volunteers who mentor youth in lincoln, lyon, redwood, jackson and cottonwood counties. In addition, youths participate in after-school and out-of-school enrichment activities mentored by adults. Adult volunteers spend time with youth focusing on increasing self-esteem, academic and personal development, and making appropriate decisions regarding participation in risky behaviors. Evaluations show the following outcomes for the youths involved in big buddies: (a) youth who were sexually active ceased participating in sexual activity; (b) teenage youth ceased or avoided using drugs, alcohol or tobacco; (c) youth reported getting along better with parents and siblings; (d) youth reported getting along better with teachers; (e) youth increased their academic grade point average; (f) youth reported an increase in self-esteem.