SCCAP will not take Section 8 applications Thursday

The South Central Community Action Program filled the 70 slots it had available to add households to its Monroe County Section 8 wait list Wednesday morning. As a result, SCCAP will not take additional applications for the wait list for housing subsidy vouchers from 1-4 p.m. Thursday, as previously scheduled.

Applicants stay all night to get on Section 8 wait list

After staying outside all night to be at the front of the line, the first group of Section 8 applicants sign in at 8 a.m. Wednesday

People hoping to get added to SCCAP’s Monroe County Section 8 wait list started lining up Tuesday evening to make sure they were near the front of the line when we started taking applications Wednesday morning.

At 8 p.m. Tuesday, there were about a dozen people already in line in the parking lot in front of SCCAP. That line grew to about 40 or so overnight. By the time SCCAP opened its doors at 8 a.m., we had distributed numbers to the first 70 households in line, who were in position to get the 70 slots available on our wait list if they are eligible for the Section 8 program. Soon after that, we had also passed out numbers to 15 additional households as alternates.

The people waiting in line were orderly this morning and the process of taking dozens of applications, which will take several hours, appears to be going smoothly. To assist with that process, SCCAP’s Monroe County office has extra help today from staff from its offices in Brown, Morgan and Owen counties.

This is the first time in five years that SCCAP has been able to add households to its Section 8 wait list in Monroe County.

Section 8 wait list opens in Monroe County tomorrow

The South Central Community Action Program in Monroe County will open 70 new slots on its Section 8 housing voucher wait list tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009.

Applications will be taken at the Bloomington office, 1500 W. 15th St., from 8 a.m. to noon. SCCAP will stop taking voucher applications when the wait list is full.

Each applicant must bring a picture ID, social security card, birth certificate, proof of income (i.e. paystubs, letters from employers, TANF/SSI/Social Security award letters), transcript for adult students, and checking and savings account information in order to apply.

This is the first time in more than five years that the organization has added new households to the wait list in Monroe County. Owen and Brown Counties took applications for their wait lists early in the month.

Another opportunity will be given at the Bloomington office on Oct. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. if there are still openings.

For questions, call 339-3447.

Reclaiming the Commons conservation forum

Here’s some information that we received and are passing along about an upcoming public forum in Bloomington on conservation and sustainability:

They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.

–Folk poem, circa 1764

Reclaiming the Commons – A Public Forum

We are pleased to announce a free and public forum on the commons—everything that we inherit or create together, and must pass along undiminished to future generations. It includes a wide range of inherited wealth, from public lands to the internet. We seek local steps toward solutions for global problems of natural resources, sustainability, and climate change.

Parker contributes to Circles Initiative

Genese Parker chats with IU President Michael McRobbie

Genese Parker describes the opportunity to work with the Circles Initiative as “perfect timing.”

Parker started at the SCCAP in July, and she is currently working as the AmeriCorps service member volunteer coordinator for Circles, which aims to help people out of poverty by pairing them with a community of support resources.

She said she first heard about the program in April at a church presentation, but when she started her job hunt, things clicked into place.

“I just really wanted to use this year of life to do something positive, and I saw Circles as a good opportunity for that,” she said.

Parker said her main duties include gathering volunteers for the program, which can mean emailing, attending volunteer recruitment fairs and contacting and interviewing potential candidates. She said her main goal is to make sure Circles is supported with enough volunteers so that aspect doesn’t distract from tackling the problem of poverty.

Parker is originally from Indianapolis. She graduated from IU in 2003 with a BA in English with a focus on creative writing and communication.

Since then she has worked with the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship as a campus staffworker. Parker plans to attend grad school in the fall to study sociology, and she is currently looking at different programs. She said she could see herself working as a sociology professor or at more of a grass roots level campaigning for social justice.

Still, Parker said working with Circles has given her assets for the future.

“I think it’s given me perspective because it’s offered me a real-life learning opportunity. I think it’s easy to think about poverty as an academic concept, but to interact with people living in it daily offers a different perspective.”

Brown County housing vouchers draw a crowd

The line to get on SCCAP’s Section 8 wait list in Brown County started to form Wednesday night, 15 hours before our Nashville office would start taking applications at 1 p.m.

With only 22 spots on the wait list to be filled, Jacky Dorsett-Neal spent the night sitting in a lawn chair on the steps of the office. Dorsett-Neal, according to a story in the Columbus Republic, works full time at a Nashville restaurant, is raising a 10-year-old son, is studying to be a paramedic and volunteers as a firefighter, but has trouble finding an affordable place to live.

“You just jump from place to place,” Dorsett-Neal told reporter Chris Schilling of the Republic. “I’ve lived out of my vehicle, with friends, at my parents. It’s very expensive to live here.”

Thursday was the first time in three years that the South Central Community Action Program has been able to open its wait list for Section 8 housing vouchers in Brown County. On Thursday morning, the line to apply for the vouchers wrapped around our Brown County office and flowed into the parking lot.

The 22 spots on the wait list weren’t enough to allow all of those who had been standing in line to get on the wait list, but if SCCAP had added any more than that, people on the lower end of the list might have to wait years before they’d actually receive a Section 8 voucher to subsidize their rental housing payments.

Hello!

Hello everyone!

My name is Lauren Sedam, and I’m the new Communications Intern here at SCCAP. I will be around occasionally updating the blog or posting stories here. Some of my other duties will include helping with news releases, interviewing people in the office, writing grant applications and just helping with whatever needs to be done to spread the word about our programs and happenings. Since I will be around the blog, this is just a little about me.

I am a sophomore at IU, and I am currently majoring in journalism with a concentration in English and psychology.  While I am not exactly sure what I want to do with my career, I am certain that I want it to involve mass media or writing in some way.

At IU I work as a copy editor and occasional writer for the newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student. I am in the Hutton Honors College and work on the staff of the Honors literary magazine, Labyrinth. I also volunteer as an usher at the IU Auditorium.

I am originally from Indianapolis, and I graduated from Perry Meridian High School in 2008. I have 3 siblings (2 sisters and a brother), and I am the oldest.

I am looking forward to learning more about the work the SCCAP does as well as applying the skills I’ve learned in the classroom to real-world practice. I’m really excited for this opportunity.

Look forward to hearing more from me! Until next time…

SCCAP to receive federal grant to expand Head Start program

U.S. Congressman Baron Hill announced Monday that the South Central Community Action Program will receive $262,327 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The funds will be used to expand SCCAP’s Head Start program, adding 32 more children (ages 3 to 5). The expectation is that SCCAP will be receiving this funding each year on an ongoing basis.  

Here are some of the specifics of this program expansion, provided by SCCAP Head Start Director Shirley Stumpner:

We will be providing two additional 6-hour per day, full-year classes with bus transportation.  Our current 6-hour per day, full year program at Lindbergh has a large wait list; this will be a great option for families that are working or going to school. 

This will also add employment opportunities for two lead teachers, two teacher assistants, one family advocate, a bus driver and a monitor. 

Bloomington Housing Authority has approved the use for the Walnut Woods site as one of the full-year program sites. We still need to secure one more site before our target start date of January 4, 2010.  I am sure our partnership with BHA was a key factor in being awarded these competitive funds.  In fact, we have some very strong partners who wrote very positive letters of support of this expansion. 

Besides the community, our staff are to be recognized for their efforts gathering information, writing sections, editing and dealing with endless revisions.  The first-year award is for $262,327 which includes funds for start up expenses. 

Shirley was interviewed about the new grant this afternoon by reporter Dann Denny, so look for a story in The Herald-Times in the next day or two.  

Also, if you’d like to read Congressman Hill’s press release announcing this grant award, click on the following link: South Central Community Action Program Head Start ARRA 9 21 09

In addition, SCCAP has received two other grants recently to support its Head Start program. We received $55,620 in Quality Improvement funds for a new Head Start bus that is wheelchair accessible. We also received a $5,000 Head Start Body Start grant for a play-place at our Lakeview Elementary site.

Another grant application that SCCAP has submitted for Early Head Start funds to make a major expansion of its program to start serving infants from birth to three, as well as pregnant mothers, is still pending. We expect to hear something on that one by mid-November.

Had your flu shot this year?

The South Central Community Action Program is offering complimentary flu shots to all SCCAP employees.

The shots will be administered by SIHO on Oct. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. and Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon. If you would like to receive a flu shot, please sign up at the agency or Head Start front desks with Shelba or Kara, or e-mail Kate at kathryn@sccap.monroe.in.us.  

These complimentary flu shots will only be available for SCCAP employees.

22 households added to Owen County wait list

The 22 additional slots that were available on the South Central Community Action Program’s Section 8 wait list in Owen County were filled in a hurry today. That means SCCAP will not be taking additional Section 8 applications Friday, as previously scheduled.   

People started lining up outside our Spencer office at 5:30 this morning. We opened at 8 a.m. and the 22 households were added to the wait list during the next two hours. It was the first time in about 2-1/2 years that SCCAP has opened its Section 8 wait list in Owen County.

There will be opportunities for residents in Brown and Monroe counties to get on SCCAP’s wait lists in those counties during the next two weeks. SCCAP will take applications for the Brown County wait list at our Nashville office on Sept. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Sept. 24 from 8 to noon; and for our Monroe County  wait list at our Bloomington office on Sept. 30 from 8 to noon and on Oct. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m.

In each county, SCCAP will stop taking applications for the Section 8 wait list as soon as it is filled. We will take 22 applications in Brown County and 70 in Monroe County.

ARRA funds stimulate Bloomington Ford

The South Central Community Action Program has purchased three new trucks from Bloomington Ford using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The new Ford Escapes will be used by energy auditors in SCCAP’s Weatherization Program, which has received ARRA funds to provide energy efficiency improvements to 150 homes in Monroe County. These ARRA funds come from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

Pictured in the photo above (from left to right) are  SCCAP Energy Auditor Frank Peacock, Bloomington Ford Commercial Sales Specialist Sam Roberts, SCCAP Weatherization Manager Bryan Berkley and SCCAP Energy Auditor Jason Hickman. Click on the picture for a closer look at one of SCCAP’s new vehicles.

Peacock and Hickman are new employees that SCCAP was able to hire using the ARRA funds. They are among five new employees hired in the SCCAP Weatherization Program with the stimulus funds.

Help available with SCCAP retirement accounts

UPDATE 9/16: The date and time for this meeting with Ryan Pitner from Bill C. Brown have been changed. It will now be held on Monday, Sept. 28 from 10 to 12 in the small conference room.

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Some useful information for SCCAP employees from HR Manager Kate Scales:

Need help or answers regarding your retirement account? Want to sign up for a retirement account? Want to understand how much your retirement account has earned this past year? Want to transfer an old retirement account into your current retirement account?

Ryan Pitner from Bill C. Brown will be at SCCAP from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, Sept. 21 to answer all of your questions regarding your retirement plan. Please come to the small conference room to talk with Ryan.

Myers in the Morning

South Central Community Action Program Director of Operations Chris Myers was a guest on Glass in the Morning on WGCL 1370 AM this morning.

To listen to the interview regarding the 150 additional homes that SCCAP will weatherize in Monroe County using federal stimulus funds, click on the following link: Chris Myers

SCCAP to open Section 8 wait list

The South Central Community Action Program will open its wait lists for Section 8 housing vouchers for rental subsidies to add 114 households in Brown, Monroe and Owen counties. 

SCCAP will add households to the wait list in each county on a first-come, first-served basis. It will add 22 households in Brown County, 70 in Monroe County and 22 in Owen County.

Staff will be taking pre-applications in the three counties at the following times and locations: (1) Owen County applications – Spencer office, 145 N. Harrison St., on Sept. 17 from 8 to noon and Friday, Sept. 18 from 1 to 4 p.m., (2) Brown County applications – Nashville office, 168 Jefferson Street, on Sept. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. and Sept. 24 from 8 to noon and (3) Monroe County applications, Bloomington office, 1500 W. 15^th St., on Sept. 30 from 8 to noon and Oct. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. SCCAP will stop taking applications for the vouchers once the wait list is full.

It will be the first time in more than five years that SCCAP has added households to its wait list in Monroe County. It has been three years in Owen County and two years in Brown County since households have been added to the wait list.

Section 8 is a program in which approved low-income households are given a voucher to find housing on their own. They pay 30 percent of their adjusted gross income toward their rent and utilities, and the federal government pays the rest.

“We are very pleased that for the first time in the recent past, we are able to add people to our list for this affordable housing program,” SCCAP Executive Director Todd Lare said. “With the economic recession we are in, this assistance is needed now more than ever.”

To submit a complete application, each applicant must bring: picture ID, social security card, birth certificate, proof of income (i.e. paystubs, letters from employers, TANF/SSI/Social Security award letters), transcript for adult students, and checking and savings account information. 

All Section 8 applicants must meet income guidelines that are based on the size of the household. For questions, call 829-2279 in Owen County, 988-6636 in Brown County and 339-3447 in Monroe County.

SCCAP is a nonprofit organization that serves low-income citizens in Owen, Brown, Monroe and Morgan counties. Its services include Affordable Rental Housing, Circles Initiative, Client Advocacy, Energy Assistance, Family Development, Head Start, Individual Development Accounts to accumulate savings, Section 8 Housing and Weatherization.

Head Start parents weigh in on Obama speech

Two parents of SCCAP Head Start children shared their opinions about President Barack Obama’s health care speech with The Herald-Times last night.

Here’s what those parents had to say -

Vanity Benberry, Indiana University senior:

My initial reaction to President Obama’s plan is (that it is) in the best interest of the American people. Everyone that is a citizen of the US deserves health care and they need it now, not tomorrow. We need cheaper, more efficient health care that is available for everyone who wants it. The government public option seems like a great idea (for those) who can’t get healthcare through other means. I personally have health care through my father’s employer, but co-pays are expensive, providers are hard to find, and medication costs are high. I would rather have Medicaid or a public option that is cheaper. I have a condition that requires me to go to the doctor frequently, buy medication, and get my blood drawn every couple of months. When buying my medication, I don’t use my insurance, I have to pay to get my blood drawn, and I have to go to Indy for appointments. I’m a college student and it’s hard to manage these rising costs and I believe Obama is working to find the best means for me and the rest of America to be able to afford to go to the doctor and get the services we need to stay healthy.

Dennisha Hicks, student at Ivy Tech Community College:

I just feel his idea is a great idea. Everyone should have some kind of medical or at least be able to buy into medical. He explained his case very well.

I have four children and when they get older, life might take them — you never know, they might not be able to afford health care — so I want know that they will at least have access to it. My 3-year-old son will grow up some day to be a man, and we know it’s more difficult for men to get Medicare.

For those who have subscriptions, you can read the comments of other local people about Obama’s speech and health care plan at HeraldTimesOnline.com.