“Community Action works. And it’s a model—not just for poverty programs but for delivery of many other public services.”
Our Quote of the Week reminds us that the Community Action model, which began under Sargent Shriver during the War on Poverty, continues to be a vital delivery mechanism of support services for over one thousand communities around the country.
This week, we find Sargent Shriver speaking to an audience of the Denver Community Action Programs in 1975, eight years after his departure from the Office of Economic Opportunity. It was a turbulent time in the United States. Richard Nixon had resigned from the presidency, Gerald Ford was president, the country was struggling to come to terms with the legacy of the Vietnam war and recovering from a recession. Shriver was running for president at the time, and he made this campaign stop in Colorado to speak to a gathering of Community Action staff.
In the speech, he makes a statement that continues to resonate today:
“The irony of America today is that we have everything to achieve our objectives—the people, the resources, the political, religious, and philosophical traditions. We have everything we need today … but confident leadership.”
Despite the loss of support in Washington at the time for programs like Community Action, Sargent Shriver points out that it and other programs he had created during the War on Poverty continued to exist and to support Americans across the country. He says:
“It’s time to ask—in this season of cynicism— [...] Why is it that Head Start, Legal Services, the Job Corps and even Community Action still survive?”
And he names three reasons for the survival of the programs:
1) the commitment of its people;
2) the effectiveness and quality of the programs;
3) the cost effectiveness of the programs.
As we pointed out at the beginning of May, Community Action programs deliver a number of different services, depending on the needs of individual communities. These services include:
- preparing people for employment through training and education;
- imparting financial literacy, tax expertise, and guidance for applying for assistance programs;
- supporting families with young children through education and child care, sometimes through partnerships with local Head Start programs;
- helping people stay safe and warm in affordable housing with functioning electricity and heating;
- teaching people to advocate for themselves.
As May comes to a close, we applaud the governors who have officially proclaimed this as Community Action Month, and we pledge to keep supporting Community Action in our programming, research, and communications.
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