Action for our community

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The strength of our community is evident from the way we help each other.

One of my proudest relationships over the last 25 years as an attorney and a judge has been my service on the board of trustees for Clinton County Community Action.

In 1998, I joined the board as a representative of the Clinton County Bar Association. I really didn’t know what I was getting into, but I believed serving the community was a good thing.

I soon learned that Community Action lives up to its name — Action. After nearly 20 years on that board, I am proud to say we are still very active helping our neighbors here in Clinton County.

In today’s column, I would like to highlight some of the things our agency has done to help the community in the last year.

We help our seniors:

• Last year we provided 7,055 fides to seniors for a variety of needs, including medical appointments and grocery shopping.

• We provided 27,083 home-delivered meals to seniors in Clinton County, and served seniors another 6,327 meals at our senior center dining facility.

• We provided 40 households monthly food boxes, provided seniors with 1,301 hours of wellness activities, and provided cleaning services to seniors through the Homemaking program to 182 different clients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

• We assisted 303 seniors with supportive services such as Medicare Part D and Medicaid applications, and assisting with bill payments.

We provide housing:

• We manage four senior housing projects – Blanchester Senior Villas, Clinton Commons I and II in Wilmington, and Community Commons in Wilmington. We also manage two family housing projects – Clinton Glen and Wilmington Apartments, both in Wilmington. Through these projects we provided safe, affordable housing to 442 individuals last year.

We help people have warm homes:

• We installed insulation and other weatherization to 60 dwellings last year, installing over $7,105 worth of materials per unit. This provides local residents with a safe, warm place for the winter and a much lower utility bill year round.

• We helped people complete 5,234 applications for help with heating and cooling bills through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP), Winter Crisis Program (WCP), and Summer Crisis Program (SCP).

We feed hungry families:

• Our food pantry served 1,889 boxes, assisting 2,293 people last year from $788 households, with food valuing $150,714. We purchase the food with a combination of grant funds and private donations.

We help children:

• Our Head Start program provided high-quality preschool to 102 children, including 17 children with disabilities. All these children came from lower income families. Our goal is to give these children a very good opportunity to succeed so that their children will not face the challenges of poverty.

We help people get to work:

• Many years ago we realized that people who need to go to work need a car. So we started the CARS program to help working people buy a dependable vehicle. Last year we had 20 current loans for a total amount of $95,528.69, with an outstanding balance of $60,566.12. The cars are all inspected before the people buy them, and come with a warranty to provide coverage for major repairs. Last year 4 of these people were able to pay off their car and get the title, which will enable us to help more people.

When I look around at the many things that Clinton County Community Action does to improve our community, I am glad to be a part of it.

This organization has been a trusted part of our local community since 1965.

We are neighbors helping neighbors.

Mike Daugherty is Judge of the Clinton County Municipal Court.

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Mike Daugherty

Contributing columnist

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