About
United Services Community Action Agency (USCAA) is a private non-profit; incorporated in December 1978 to serve the low-income citizens of Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties in Missouri. USCAA provides both emergency and long-term answers to the poverty conditions that affect our citizens. Programs target our youth, “at-risk” teens, the elderly, as well as those struggling families and individuals who wish for improved employment, education, and housing opportunities. Community programs seek to impact local poverty issues that are systematic in nature.
Mission Statement
Our Mission is to eliminate poverty among the people of Jackson, Clay, and Platte Counties in Missouri. We focus all available resources toward the goal of assisting low-income individuals, families, and communities in achieving the highest level of self-sufficiency. We serve as advocates for low-income residents by identifying the causes of poverty and developing and implementing a comprehensive approach to eliminate those causes.
Impact Statement
While we do not see United Services as primarily an energy assistance agency, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) dollars are an important component in our anti-poverty arsenal. We find that families must have the basic necessities of life taken care of first, before they can concentrate on higher goals, such as going to school to get a diploma or before they can focus on acquiring improved skills to obtain a better job. Also, in the case of the elderly or the very young, excessive heat or cold can be deadly—so, the importance of these funds magnifies for these groups. Fortunately, last year USCAA had more dollars ($7.5 million) than any other organization in the Kansas City area to help with this important basic need. We impacted over 29,000 households in Jackson, Clay, & Platte Counties with our LIHEAP funding alone. Although many people come to us wanting nothing but their utilities turned back on, some are open to the other opportunities we present to them at that time. Tired of struggling in poverty, these individuals wish for a different life, but have no idea where to start. We show them how to change their own lives step-by-step… thereby, making self-reliance and dignity a lasting reality in their lives for themselves and their children.
Background Statement
Margaret Mead, an anthropologist once observed… “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The same could be said of our beginnings at United Services. In the late 1970’s, a handful of dedicated people resolved to fight poverty in Kansas City through the Community Action movement. They came together and formed a private, nonprofit organization called United Services of Greater Kansas City. The agency was incorporated on December 14, 1978 “to mobilize, coordinate and focus public and private resources to make maximum impact on those problems and obstacles that affect the lives and the life styles of the poor,” and “to provide a vehicle through which the poor will have maximum participation in identifying, developing and implementing programs that will ultimately change and affect their life styles.” The agency received its initial $79,000 planning grant and opened its doors shortly thereafter. Almost 30 years have passed, our name has changed (to United Services Community Action Agency in 1995), and our budget has grown substantially—but our sense of purpose and passion remains as strong as that handful of committed citizens who believed that they could change this corner of the world by changing the lives of the poor in Jackson, Clay and Platte Counties through our work here at United Services. Most importantly, we understand that no matter how many “clients” come to us for “services”…that every number is a story…is a face…is someone’s life.
What makes us different?
Community Action is a nation-wide network of agencies sharing a common goal: Confronting poverty at the levels of the individual, family and community. There are 1,000 Community Action Agencies (CAA) in the United States; 96% of all counties in the U.S. are served by a local CAA… and each local CAA targets the specific poverty problems in their service area with a wide range of programs and strategies.
Community Action has organizations that advocate on our behalf at the national and state levels of government ~ giving our disadvantaged citizens a stronger “voice” in the affairs that affect them. When you unite with a CAA, you join a powerful and far-reaching association with more than 40 years of history and vision.
What is ROMA?
ROMA (Results Oriented Management & Accountability) is a nationally recognized method of measuring the impact of our efforts on individuals, families and communities. Every CAA is accountable for the effectiveness of its programs. ROMA scores are analyzed at the local, state and national level to determine the future direction of our work. “Best Practices” and improved strategies are shared state-wide as well as nationally as we strive to better serve our most vulnerable citizens.
Documents
2009 Needs Assessment (direct pdf)
