MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Community Action Partnership is celebrating a milestone with its partner organizations across the county this month: 60 years of improving communities, fighting the impacts of poverty, inspiring a spirit of hope and creating opportunities for residents to be a part of the American Dream.
Community Action Agencies may look different in each community. They can be nonprofit agencies or operated publicly through a local government entity but were all established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” Community Action Agencies were formed to promote self-sufficiency and respond to immediate social and economic needs within their communities. There are now about 1,000 Community Action Agencies across the nation.
In the County of Monterey, Community Action is operated publicly under the County of Monterey Department of Social Services as the Monterey County Community Action Partnership (MCCAP) and serves to improve lives and strengthen communities across the county.
The 2024-25 MCCAP service provider network includes the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County, Goodwill Central Coast, Gathering for Women, Meals on Wheels of Monterey Peninsula, Partnership for Children, Sun Street Centers, Community Homeless Solutions, United Way Monterey County and YWCA. MCCAP will continue to work with these service providers through the year ensuring compliance with the CSBG funding requirements, continual improvements in case management, and sharing pertinent information to the community.
“Our Community Action Partnership has been a long-standing pillar of this community, and we will continue working hard to meet the needs of our local residents,” said Roderick Franks, assistant director of the Department of Social Services.
MCCAP successfully maintains and distributes Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) funding biennially to local service providers that are meeting the assessed needs of the low-income community. For the current 2024-25 contract cycle, MCCAP distributed more than $500,000 of CSBG funds to six local service providers who serve residents in all areas/regions of the county.
Monterey County Board of Supervisors appoints a 15-member commission composed of regionally selected residents and targeted representatives of the low-income community to advise and support MCCAP’s mission and community needs assessment process.
“MCCAP has reached a huge milestone, celebrating 60 years, and I could not be prouder of MCCAP staff, all of our commissioners, and service providers for continually serving our community with effective and accessible programs for our low-income population,” said Jake Odello, chair of the Community Action Commission and supervisorial representative from District 5.
On May 14, the Board of Supervisors recognized Community Action with a ceremonial resolution commemorating 60 years and the month of May as Community Action Month.
