NORWICH – Community action groups across the state are hoping to raise awareness of their impact on the people they serve. Opportunities for Chenango Director Wayne H. Viera told those gathered at a special luncheon at Morrisville State College’s Norwich Campus this week that in just the last decade, the organization had been awarded and distributed $96,803,178 in state and federal grants in Chenango County.
The funds were received through successful grant applications made by the agency and reallocated into the local economy through OFC’s 22 community programs and services. They include the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Preschool Head Start and the Early Head Start, Child and Adult Food program, Quaranta Housing Service (QHS), Back on the Rack II, the Retired and Senior Volunteer (RSVP), Keys to Success, the Foreclosure Intervention program and Women Infants Children (WIC) to name a few.
“Thousands of low-moderate income families and individuals have received services that have propelled them toward self-sufficiency,” Viera told the audience.
The director also said one of the most important parts of OFC’s last 10 years of success relied heavily on its ability to work cooperatively and network services with other local organizations.
The event was attended by dozens of representatives from the different partnerships OFC has developed over the years and many of them spoke at the luncheon.
Norwich Mayor Joseph Maiurano shared a number of success stories he said directly aided city residents in the last year.
“The city has several programs intended to assist low and moderate income households that rent and own. For example in December we completed a home LPA program rehabilitating 21 apartment units at seven properties. The city worked closely with OFC, which provided energy audits and weatherization assistance for the home program,” he said.
Chenango County Planning and Development Director Donna M. Jones said the county desperately needs to continue developing its residential infrastructure, saying many are living in conditions well below the state average.
“During the 1990s, the county suffered severe economic decline due to the loss of several major industries: Victory Markets, Champion Products, Procter and Gamble, and Sherwood Medical, among others. The manufacturing jobs lost through this decade were jobs at a living wage with benefits. The jobs that have come into the county since then are primarily in the service sector, are at minimum wage or just above and are largely without benefits,” she said.
Jones said the trend has become even more challenging in the last few years.
“Chenango County has the most distressed economy in the Southern Tier East region in terms of unemployment rates and the proportional displacement of employees. Poor economic conditions have created a number of housing problems in the county. Housing has become increasingly less affordable to low income households and existing homeowners with declining incomes have had greater difficulty maintaining their homes,” she said.
Jones said a total of 8,790 housing units were constructed in the county prior to 1939, but only 6,242 have been added since 1980, many of those units were low income housing such a mobile homes.
Jones said without the help of OFC and other local groups, the problem would be far worse.
Though its Direct Investments to Housing Rehabilitation, home weatherization and energy conservation and First Time Home Buyer programs Viera said OFC has invested just under $30 million Chenango County’s housing infrastructure in the last decade.
“In these trying times we must make sure our state and federal officials keep funding these that contribute so much to the quality of life in our area,” said Maiurano.
Other community leaders such as United Way Director Elizabeth C. Monaco, NBT Vice President Joseph Culver and Catholic Charities representative Gary Quarella shared stories about how their organizations and OFC work together.
“It’s probably already been said by everyone else here today, but I’ll say it again from our perspective at Catholic Charities. If it wasn’t for the contributions and referrals from OFC, many of the things we do just wouldn’t be possible and a lot of people wouldn’t get the help they need,” said Quarella.
Viera told the audience that one of the biggest looming issues for community action groups is the uncertainty of the economy.
“Funding for all programs is always under attack. That’s nothing new,” he said. “But community action groups are currently facing tremendous challenges with funding. State and federal funding is down and is forecasted to continue that way for the next few years, at least.”
Viera said many of the figures he shared were gathered by OFC and eight other community action groups across the 24th Congressional District shortly after federal lawmakers and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced sweeping budget cuts.
“We want people to understand the value of these programs and just how much they’ve invested in our local communities, not just in terms of economics – which is significant – but of people too,” he said.