Still Fighting the War on Poverty—in
Bellingham
Kay Sardo calls herself a “Silverback.” In the wilds of Africa,
that’s the gray-backed gorilla whose experience, wisdom and
resourcefulness make him the respected leader of the troop. In Kay’s
case, it means she’s been engaged in the War on Poverty since its
inception and continues to lead the fight today as executive
director of the Opportunity Council in Bellingham, Washington.
Kay Sardo, Executive Director,
Opportunity Council
The Opportunity Council administers Head Start, as well as programs
to feed, clothe, house and help people find jobs in Whatcom, San
Juan and Island counties in northwestern Washington state. The
Council was founded in 1965—they will be celebrating their 40th
anniversary in November—and Kay has been at the helm in Bellingham
since 1995.
Starting up Head Start
Kay’s perspective is fascinating because she literally was there at
the beginning. She worked at the Bank Street College of Education in
New York City when that institution was developing the original
guidelines for the federal Head Start program. As Kay recalls, “Head
Start came out of the work that women did during the Second World
War, developing childcare cooperatives to help the mothers who had
gone to work to support the war effort. A lot of knowledge was
gained about early childhood education, which became the basis for
the design of Head Start.”
After that she worked at the Community Action Agency in New York
City as assistant commissioner for programs. In the mid-sixties,
historic moments were coming in quick succession. Kay remembers that
John Kennedy was developing the outlines for the “Great Society,”
prior to his assassination. One of Lyndon Johnson’s first actions on
assuming the presidency was to meet with Martin Luther King, Jr. and
assure him that the war on poverty would be one of his highest
priorities. He kept his word, passing the Civil Rights and Economic
Opportunity Acts in 1964 and the creation of Medicare, the Voting
Rights Act and founding the department of Housing and Urban
Development in 1965.
Helping people find a voice
Looking back on these programs and the role of community action
agencies in implementing them, Kay says, “We have the history of
being the safety net for low-income people, but also having boards
where low-income people were being trained to have a voice in their
community.”
Of course the War on Poverty involved the allocation of a huge
amount of money. In addition to Head Start, there were other massive
programs like VISTA and the Neighborhood Youth Corps. Not
surprisingly, issues quickly arose involving the allocation of
monies and oversight of programs. The Green Amendment, passed in
1967, mandated the inclusion of local elected officials on the
boards making the funding decisions. This continues today. The
boards of community action agencies are one-third local citizens,
one-third low-income people and one-third elected officials.
Although the Green Amendment reduced the autonomy of the CAAs, Kay
prefers to focus on the good that resulted: “In the effort to help
low-income people help themselves, it doesn’t matter who’s in
charge. One of the advantages of having elected officials on our
board is that they learn what works and what doesn’t in helping
low-income people. I can depend on our elected officials to speak
for low-income people because they’re able to talk with them when
they attend our board meetings.”
The next big challenge came in the 1980s. The Reagan administration
instituted a system of block grants, which effectively reduced
support for domestic social programs by 25-30%. Characteristically,
Kay finds the silver lining here as well. In this case, it was the
opportunity to develop a strong working relationship with CTED.
“This was a change and a challenge,” Kay asserts. “CTED took it on
and they are a wonderful partner for us. When I came here, one of
the first things I did was to meet them in Olympia, and I was
greeted with open arms.”
Volunteers and partners
To supplement government money, Kay says that smart utilization of
local resources is the key to making the programs work. For example,
Everett Sanders, the first director of the Opportunity Council, came
out of retirement to assume the reins. This is actually fairly
common: Skilled individuals taking on community action
responsibilities as a post-retirement project.
Utilization of volunteers is a key component at all levels. In Head
Start, parent volunteers often learn to read and write English while
they are helping in classrooms. The Opportunity Council’s feeding
program, Maple Alley Inn, has had the same people volunteering their
time for more than 20 years. The community also makes a big
volunteer commitment to its school children, donating school
supplies “to make sure that nobody in Bellingham goes to school the
first day without a backpack and the appropriate supplies.”
Karen Ekdahl is executive director of the Bellingham Childcare and
Learning Center, which partners with the Opportunity Council to
provide Head Start and Early Head Start programs for families in
Whatcom County.
Collaboration with religious institutions is also important. Kay
points out that Head Start’s philosophy is to locate itself in the
heart of communities; in practice, this means the program frequently
operates out of neighborhood churches. In Bellingham, the
Opportunity Council organized a coalition of more than 30
congregations to form the Interfaith Community Health Center, which
is now an independent entity.
Businesses also are available as partners. The restaurants in
Bellingham work with the Opportunity Council annually in the “Dine
Out for Maple Alley Inn” initiative. During this period, the
restaurants contribute 20% of their receipts to Maple Alley Inn. The
community pitches in by patronizing the restaurants. “You can’t find
a place in the parking lots, and the lines stretch out the door.”
The Commission, too, has had a role in supporting Opportunity
Council efforts. In 1998, we helped finance Dorothy Place, a 21-unit
transitional housing facility for women and children who are
survivors of domestic violence. We also assisted the Opportunity
Council’s efforts to purchase and refurbish their own administrative
building. This was a particularly gratifying project as their old
headquarters were on an upper floor in a building that wasn’t even
ADA accessible.
Helping people help themselves
As you hear Kay tell her story, you realize why community action
agencies have managed to survive—and succeed—over four decades. As
Kay herself puts it: “The best part of being a Silverback is you get
to look back on what has been achieved. The initiatives launched in
the 60s really have come to fruition. Every time I hear the voices
of my fellow community action directors, I hear a reflection of that
original energy directed toward helping people who want to help
themselves.”
El Centro de la Raza: Still True to Its
Roots
For the vast majority of us, a home means far more than a roof over
our heads. Home is also inextricably caught up with being part of a
community—a place where we count for something, and where we share
values. This is what lies at the core of El Centro de la Raza in
Seattle. Like its sister CAAs, El Centro does much for the good of
its community in terms of a host of service areas that meet basic
needs for lower-income people, including housing, education,
nutrition, healthcare and childcare.
Roberto Maestas,
Executive Director
El Centro de la Raza
But this organization’s philosophy takes the notion of community and
care much further. El Centro de la Raza is an actual, physical
community, a center for its constituents to go to and participate in
forums and classes, and connect with needed services. And, probably
more to the point, this organization’s principles embody a very
strong identity—that of champion of human rights, champion of
multi-racial unity, and champion in particular of the Latino
community.
In other words, if you’re going to fight a war on poverty, you have
to address poverty’s root causes. You have to involve yourself in,
in El Centro Executive Director Roberto Maestas’ words,
“extraordinarily diverse areas—human rights, civil rights, policy
advocacy, human services, culture.”
You also have to be tireless and tenacious. “You name it, we do it,
it’s a three-ring circus. It’s the best way I can describe it,”
Roberto laughs.
El Centro’s origins in Vietnam War-era activism
If you lived in or near Seattle in the fall of 1972, you probably
remember how El Centro de la Raza got its start. El Centro was born
when a few dozen frustrated idealists occupied an abandoned
elementary school in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood for three
months.
“I was the director of an anti-poverty program that got eliminated,”
Roberto recalls. “The Nixon administration had to make a major
decision. I think it’s relevant to us today: Do we continue the war
on poverty, or do we continue the war in Vietnam? They chose the war
in Vietnam. They froze hundreds of anti-poverty programs because the
budget wasn’t there. Our response to it was to dramatize the
contradiction. And I think after 33 years, history has absolved
us—in terms of having taken the building and said: ‘We want to
create a truly multi-racial center for people of all races,’ which
is what El Centro de la Raza means.”
When Roberto and the other protesters occupied the building, they
didn’t have a cent or a government mandate. And they had no idea
what the authorities would do. “All we brought was a yearning to
build community. To create a sense of belonging, focused primarily
on the practically invisible Latino community, but with a clear
sense that we were all in this together.”
After successfully winning final approval from Seattle’s mayor, El
Centro’s leaders had a huge task ahead in what Roberto jokingly
calls “this huge three-story white elephant. We didn’t know a lot
about administration. None of us who led the occupation had the
formal education to create an infrastructure.” But, based on El
Centro’s philosophical tenets, volunteers and staff have continued
to build a responsive organization. After 33 years, El Centro’s
reach is considerable. This is an abridged list of the
organization’s current services to the community:
-
Human
Services: housing and rental assistance, transitional housing,
food distribution programs, senior programs, basic healthcare plans,
advocacy, translation services.
-
Education and Skill Building: classes and programs in homeownership
education and financial literacy, economic development, job creation
and training, English as a second language, job readiness, US
citizenship.
-
Child and
Youth Programs: after school care, mentoring, poetry
classes, child development programs, parenting classes, youth
leadership programs.
But it’s a fourth functional area of El Centro’s work, that of
community building, that truly sets it apart. The center hosts and
exhibits art, and sponsors forums and nationally and internationally
known speakers on topics that connect with its mission—such as the
struggles faced by developing countries, ethnic and racial equality,
peace, empowerment, justice. El Centro also hosts delegations to and
from other countries. And its leaders are dedicated to grassroots
organizing, social education, and voter education and registration.
Advocacy for core values
For Roberto, in one sense at least, relatively little has changed
since El Centro’s founding. The organization’s core principles,
hammered out early in its history, are frequently revisited. “We do
not allow ourselves to forget our history—the history of this
organization,” he says. “We repeat, reexamine, dialogue continually.
We are convinced if people don’t know where they’ve been, they
cannot know where they are—much less where they’re going.”
El Centro’s 12 core principles continue to serve as its moral
compass. From a practical standpoint, the principles are useful
because they give all stakeholders a very clear sense of El Centro’s
mission and core values. They also give Roberto the mandate to speak
for the organization on legislative issues without having to check
in constantly with his board. He cites last month’s vote by the King
County Council on a proposed tax levy for services limited to
veterans as an example. The levy was divisive, and a coalition of
social service providers and churches spoke out against it,
including El Centro.
“We examined that proposal, and concluded, by reviewing the
principles of our organization, that it didn’t fit,” Roberto says.
“To single out a sector for a special levy—the argument was not
compelling enough for us.”
Where is El Centro headed? “We’ve been talking about it a lot,”
Roberto affirms. “We think that the highest priority for the next
decade is for communities of color to build a political coalition
that focuses primarily on holding elected officials accountable.
Because we are a 501(c)3 organization, we can’t endorse candidate X
over Y. But we have an ad hoc committee that has been putting out a
recommended ballot.” Roberto believes that it’s critical for
community-based organizations to educate their constituents about
the legislative candidates who are the most committed, responsible
and effective—and who will advocate for their concerns.
Striking murals grace the walls of El Centro de la Raza. The
organization is currently undergoing a complete renovation of its
100-year-old home.
Roberto and El Centro are also dedicated to encouraging a new
generation of leaders and advocates through classes, mentoring and
recognition. In 2002, the organization held a major celebration to
mark its 30th anniversary. The theme was “Honoring the New
Generation of Leaders.” They singled out 30 young people who have
been influenced by El Centro de la Raza and are giving back to their
community. “Our most valuable asset is our volunteers,” Roberto
affirms. “From students in college and high school, elders, retired
people, children—people of all ages are critical to our achievements
and our survival.”
Coming Together: Walla Walla’s Blue
Mountain Action Council helps bring out the best in its community
Walla Walla’s Blue Mountain Action Council is a prime example of how
much good can come to a community from broad-based efforts that
reach across traditional boundaries. Founded in 1966 by concerned
citizens, advocacy groups, local churches and political leaders,
BMAC has expanded its reach since its early beginnings. But this
community action agency continues to pursue the same basic
goals—that of alleviating poverty and its impacts, advocating for
community members who need support, and encouraging greater levels
of independence and self-sufficiency, where possible, from the many
people who get that support.
Steven Moss,
Chief Executive Officer
Blue Mountain Action Council
Steven Moss, chief executive officer at BMAC, has been with the
organization for 28 years—since 1977. He’s held his current
leadership role for 14 years. Much of course has changed over the
past several decades; Walla Walla County’s population for example
has seen significant growth and is headed toward 60,000.
“One of the beauties of living in a smaller community, and being one
of the major partners in trying to assist others, is that we have
access directly to resources, or we build partnerships with other
organizations that have those resources,” Steven says.
From the very beginning, BMAC, which serves Walla Walla, Columbia
and Garfield counties, has had an emphasis around employment and
training. During Steven’s tenure, BMAC has expanded its focus in
many ways. “Certainly, our sophistication and professionalism have
improved,” says Steven. “But we’ve always had a role in advocating
for lower-income people on all three levels—the community level,
across the state and nationally—on behalf of issues that affect
them.”
Focus on housing has grown
Since the early 1990s, housing concerns have gotten increasing
attention from BMAC’s leadership. Reports Steven, “In 1994, the
board and staff did some strategic planning and spent the better
part of a year training consultant facilitators. We reached out
throughout the community, and spent a lot of time listening to
partners, community players, residents.” The consensus they reached
was that there was a strong need for BMAC to play a role in special
needs housing. Under that rubric is included addressing
homelessness, along with the needs of developmentally and physically
disabled people, low-income seniors, and the chronically mentally
ill.
Housing remains a big focus of BMAC’s agenda. Its board just spent
the last two meetings talking exclusively about affordable housing.
BMAC’s first venture into constructing housing took place in 1997.
This duplex, the King Shelter, is
still used today as a shelter for the homeless. That housing was the
first of BMAC’s current 10 duplex properties—20 homes—that have been
built or purchased for special needs housing. BMAC works closely
with Valley Residential, another local non-profit, that leases and
manages some of these properties and cares for the developmentally
disabled individuals who reside there. In addition, BMAC, with the
help of HUD financing and other partners, just completed an 8-unit
apartment building to house people with chronic mental illness.
Melrose Place, Blue Mountain's just-completed eight-unit apartment
building, is shown at left with Housing Director Robert Maher.
It was built to provide affordable rental units for low income
individuals in the community who are seniors, developmentally
disabled, chronically mentally ill, or have a physical disability.
And initial talks are underway concerning helping to sponsor an
Oxford house, a self-governing home for recovering alcoholics
transitioning back into the community and the workforce.
Currently, BMAC is also working with approximately 15 families to
help them to transition out of homelessness. BMAC is able to assist
these families for up to two years with decreasing financial
involvement, providing rental homes. The goal is to help wage
earners to integrate back into the community, with a job or
sufficient training to obtain a job—“to move on to
self-sufficiency,” says Steven.
Another important focus for Steven and BMAC is working with people
to improve their current housing. Nearly a decade ago, BMAC launched
a revolving loan program to help homeowners rehabilitate their
homes. These modest loans range in interest from 0-3%. “The notion
here,” Steven describes, “is that the most affordable housing that
individuals have is where they currently live. We want to make sure
that it’s livable, comfortable—and that it retains value.”
Blue Mountain’s revolving loan program helps
people rehabilitate their homes. Pictured at left is a work in
progress.
The work has ranged from putting in foundations to replacing roofs,
upgrading electricity, and fixing bathrooms. Well over 100 loans are
currently in place. Washington State has been a supportive partner
of this program, as well as the Donald and Virginia Sherwood Trust,
a local community trust.
Steven is quick to credit Jon Martin, who was the housing services
director at BMAC before taking a housing-related position at
Opportunity Council in Bellingham last year. “We worked together for
about 24 years, and he played an integral role in many of Blue
Mountain’s housing efforts.”
Strong partnerships
Steven emphasizes the importance of strong partnerships in all of
Blue Mountain’s endeavors. He points to the local school system and
three nearby colleges, along with WorkSource Walla Walla, DSHS, the
Walla Walla Housing Authority, as well as other government
organizations and private non-profits. “We could not do it without
our partners. From our county commissioner leadership to county
departments to other nonprofits. The City of Walla Walla, our
largest municipality, plays a very positive role,” he says.
“We’ve developed strong working relationships with many
organizations, some of them over the past 25 years and more. Some of
the same individuals are involved as well. I’ve worked with the
president of Walla Walla Community College, Steven VanAusdle, all 28
years I’ve been with BMAC. It’s that kind of informality that makes
this a nice community, and it helps to cut through bureaucratic
processes or time delays.”
Encouraging volunteerism is also very important to BMAC’s mission.
Volunteers work in BMAC’s literacy program, legal assistance
program, food distribution services for eight local pantries, and
food drives. BMAC is a contractor with community and national
service through Washington State for AmeriCorps. BMAC’s volunteer
ombudsmen visit, resolve complaints, and advocate on behalf of
residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
In all, BMAC averages about 55 different contract funding sources
per year in its many programs, in addition to United Way funding,
private donations and other kinds of community support.
What lies ahead? “In many respects,” Steven concludes, “it’s a very
exciting time. Sometimes the challenges of decreased funding and
added needs bring out the best in people. I think that’s the
opportunity we have locally—to come together.”
The King Shelter
 Built in 1997, it is still used today as
a shelter for the homeless. It is named in honor of Dolores
Dickenson King, whose estate, bequeathed to the Blue Mountain
Community Foundation, helped make this home possible.
BMAC also
partnered with DSHS, CTED, the Housing Trust Fund, the Coalition for
the Homeless and other organizations to fund the project. It is
leased for $5 a year to the Christian Aid Center, which operates it. Implementing a training model, BMAC hired a
carpenter and a carpenter’s assistant and employed 15 public
assistance recipients as the primary construction labor force. About
two-thirds of them worked on the duplex from start to finish; most
were able to secure employment afterwards. “We haven’t been able to
replicate that model since, but I’m very proud of that,” says Steven
Moss. “We still keep it in mind as we continue to think about future
development.”
“Swim with the Sharks”: Opportunities
Industrialization Center of Washington
One of the challenges of directing a community action agency is the
near certainty that, sooner or later, you’ll face cuts in the
support you receive from the federal government. Then you’re forced
to scramble, to become more efficient, do more with less and locate
other sources of funds. To survive over a long period of time
requires tenacity, and nobody exemplifies this quality more than
Henry Beauchamp, executive director of OIC of Washington.
Henry Beauchamp, Executive Director
Opportunities Industrialization Center of Washington
In fact, one of Henry’s great stories is about how Dr. Leon H.
Sullivan, founder of the first OIC in 1964, reacted to news of
revenue sharing under the Nixon Administration. According to Henry,
Dr. Sullivan said, “I don’t care what they do with the money; they
can take it and throw it in with the sharks. If they do, we’ll get
out there and swim with the sharks to make sure OIC gets its share
of the money.”
Founding Yakima Valley OIC
One aspect of tenacity is knowing how to seize an opportunity when
it presents itself. Henry’s early career included stints at a
community action agency, Job Corps and then as director of Southeast
Community Center, a multi-service center in Yakima. A colleague in
Olympia provided an introduction to Jim Williams, director of
Seattle OIC, which happened to be hosting the OIC national
conference that year. Henry attended, heard Leon Sullivan speak …
and the rest is history.
“I liked his methodology. I liked his delivery. I liked what he had
to say,” Henry recalls. “In particular I liked the concept of
self-help. A hand up, not a hand out. Dr. Sullivan had a real
passion for people; he believed that the people we serve always come
first.”
Inspired by Sullivan, Henry didn’t waste any time: “Before I left
that meeting I made an inquiry as to how we could get an OIC in
Yakima.” Fortuitously, Henry’s interest was kindled just at the time
when the Department of Labor had allocated $10 million to establish
40 new OICs around the country. In September 1970, Henry became the
director of the 100th OIC in the U.S., Yakima Valley OIC, with a
$156,000 grant to provide job training for unemployed or
underskilled workers in the area.
Obviously, the scope of work expanded over time. Under Henry’s
leadership, Yakima Valley OIC evolved to provide services in the
Tri-Cities, Moses Lake, Wenatchee, Ellensberg, Cle Elum, Sunnyside,
Mt. Vernon and Seattle. As a result, the agency changed its name to
OIC of Washington in 2003.
OIC, CAA, LPA: What’s the difference?
At this point, you may be wondering why I am writing about an OIC in
a newsletter dedicated to community action agencies. The question
has a two-part answer.
First, both CAAs and OICs are dedicated to helping poor people
become more self-sufficient. Perusing the OIC of Washington’s
mission statement makes it clear that the goals and strategies are
identical for all intents and purposes: “The Mission is to help in
the elimination of unemployment, poverty and illiteracy so that
people of all colors and creeds can live their lives with greater
dignity. The Mission includes the provision of educational and human
services, also economic development, and services to secure and
provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to eligible
participants and residents in the State of Washington.”
Second, OIC of Washington is, in fact, connected to the CAA network
in its role as a Limited Purpose Agency (LPA) administering grants
for the Office of Community Services (OCS). Henry assumed this
responsibility in 1986 when OCS eliminated its regional offices and
needed local assistance. Typically, this started out as a small
assignment—$100,000 divided between three recipients—but grew over
time.
Today, OIC of Washington operates 24 separate programs with an
operating budget of $12 million. The main emphases are employment
training and affordable housing. But the agency also operates food
banks and health clinics, and provides energy assistance,
conservation training, weatherization, minor home repair services
and lead paint remediation. OIC of Washington also operates a
farmworker training program and a nursing home, which are registered
as separate entities.
A model for success
OIC of Washington has a staff of 186 individuals, plus an additional
150 working at the nursing home in Seattle. By every measure, it is
one of the largest agencies of its kind in the country.
However, Henry feels that size isn’t the best measure of their
success. He’s more concerned with quality—and the outcomes
experienced by individuals in the programs. He takes great pride in
recognizing young people who have graduated from OIC training
programs to get good jobs. There are some remarkable stories: two
dropouts who put in the work and were able to get jobs at Microsoft;
another who became an electrical engineer; and most telling, a
former gang member who went on to become a surgeon. OIC of
Washington has been recognized as having one of the top-performing
job training programs in the state, and they’ve received national
kudos as well.
Quality housing
OIC of Washington got involved in housing about eight years ago,
when the director of the Yakima Housing Authority became ill and
requested assistance. The project in question was a Youthbuild
grant, which required the agency to train high school dropouts in
construction, and make sure they received a GED at the same time. In
accepting the responsibility, Henry recalls, “we said, ‘If we’re
going to build housing, we want it to be good enough that we’d live
in it ourselves.’ Our philosophy is to build something decent, to do
it the right way, so people will have newfound dignity in the
housing stock they now enjoy.”
Chris
Link, director of Housing and Weatherization, OIC of Washington,
visits the “Excel High School.”
Henry believes in the importance of partnerships, and he credits the
quality of his staff for the agency’s continued success. He also
knows that success comes from hard work and tenacity. “Success
doesn’t come automatically,” Henry reflects. “You have to be hungry
to be successful. You have to work for it. We run into difficulties
from time to time, but we’ve learned how to suffer and withstand
disappointment. From Dr. Sullivan, we learned how to fight through
and how to get along. He gave us confidence, and passion. We don’t
see anything that’s so big or difficult that we can’t fix it.”
Baker Court Subdivision
Henry Beauchamp and Chris Link, director of Housing and
Weatherization, at the Baker Court subdivision homes for low-income
people.
OIC of Washington managed the construction of this six-unit project
using a grant from the federal HOME program and labor from
AmeriCorps volunteers.
Executive Director Henry Beauchamp believes in the importance of
partnerships. He says, “Everything we’ve done, every success we’ve
experienced, we owe to other people who give us ideas and help us in
other ways. We can’t do it alone.” Some of OIC of Washington’s most
frequent partners include CTED, the City of Yakima, Yakima Federal
Savings and Loan, and the Washington State Housing Finance
Commission.
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
About Us
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission is a self-supporting
agency that provides below-market financing to buy, build or
preserve affordable housing and nonprofit capital facilities. The
Commission builds partnerships with the private sector to raise
capital needed to further these social and economic objectives at no
cost to the taxpayers of Washington State. For more
information about the Commission and its work, visit
www.wshfc.org or call
206-464-7139 or 1-800-767-HOME (4663) toll free in Washington State.
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