In celebration of Community Action Month in May, Economic Security Corporation will be hosting a softball tournament on Saturday May 12, 2007. The event, to be held at Bassman Field, will begin at 9am.

More information will be coming soon about the tournament; however, ESC needs to begin rounding up its staff team! The first 7 people to respond to this article will automatically be signed up. Anyone else who responds will be entered into a random drawing to determine the final 8 players! If you are interested... please contact Sonja Davidson at 781-0352 ext. 217 or by email at sdavidson@escswa.org today!

These games will be an amazing opportunity to show our community what Community Action is all about. All proceeds from the event will benefit local families, individuals and supportive agencies in the fight against poverty!

If you are interested in participating as a volunteer the day of the event, please contact Tammie Walker at 781-0352 ext. 216 or at twalker@escswa.org

ESC's Chief Executive Officer, John Joines (R), was selected by Governor Matt Blunt to review the state’s Housing Finance Agency (HFA). The Governor’s charge to the members of the Task Force is to “examine MHDC ( Missouri Housing Development Commission) and its operations and then make recommendations to maximize the impact of every dollar invested in creating affordable housing options for Missourians.”

Other members of the bipartisan blue ribbon task force include:

• Co-Chair State Sen. Jack Goodman (R)
• Co-Chair Gary Collins (D) former MHDC Chair
• Lou Berra (D), President Development Resource Group
• Bill Brown (R), a former regional HUD director
• Bill Greiner (R), chief investment officer UMB
• State Rep. Rodney Hubbard (D)
• Margaret Kelly (R), former state auditor
• State Sen. Harry Kennedy (D)
• Becky Scorse (R), loan officer at Guaranty Bank in Springfield

The Task Force took public testimony during meetings in Jefferson City, Branson, St. Louis and Blue Springs. Those providing comments addressed multiple issues surrounding the activities of MHDC including: the state’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), discussion of a two-step application process, and implementation of a point system for selecting projects. Additionally, members heard requests to increase the recording fee on real estate transactions from $3 to $10, with the money to be used to fund additional Housing Trust Fund, HOME projects, and a recommendation that elected officials not hold a position as an Officer of the Commission.

Of greatest interest to the public appeared to be the issues surrounding the state “bond cap.” Of late, a number of projects have run up against the cap causing the projects to be delayed until more funds become available.

The Task Force met for a final session in Jefferson City on March 16th to allow individual members to submit their recommendations. The final report will be sent to the governor for his review.

ESC's Transitional Housing Program had a very successful year! (Feb 1, 2006 to Jan. 31, 2007) The program, designed to provide a holistic approach to serving homeless families, was able to serve a total of 22 families. Those families consisted of a total of 23 adults and 56 children.

53 of the children served were under 12 years of age. 92% of the families were victims of domestic violence and 14% were recovering from an addiction.

Despite these obstacles, three of the families were able to complete the full two-year program, and 86% of the families who exited the program moved into permanent housing! In addition 68% of the adults were able to find full-time employment. ESC staff are very proud of the accomplishments of these families, and the goals that they were able to achieve through the program.

ESC's CHANCE program also had a very successful year.! (Feb. 1, 2006 to Jan. 31, 2007) The program offers an 80-hour employment workshop to help homeless individuals get back into the workforce.

52 individuals and 4 families were served by the program over the past year. 86% of the participants were recovering from an addiction and 33% are veterans. Despite these obstacles, 60% of the participants who enrolled in the program obtained a full-time job. Job retention is a key focus of the program, and through the support of a case manager, 41% of those employed retained their employment 180 days. We are very proud of our program participants and the goals that they were able to achieve with our support!

ESC will once again be holding a picnic to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our staff members. The event will be held at Landreth Park's South Shelter (YAY! More Shade!) on Friday, May 18, 2007 from 11-3 pm. The event is mandatory for all staff members, so mark your calendars for food, fun and games! More information coming soon!

ESC's Women's Health Clinic will begin offering the new cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, to females in Jasper, Newton, Barton and McDonald county starting this month.

The vaccine will be available free of charge to women and teens, ages 19-26, who are uninsured, under- insured, or who are unable to afford the copays required by their insurance. It will also be offered to children and teens, ages 9-18, who are unqualified for the state's Vaccinations for Children Program. Interested individuals can receive the vaccination by visiting one of ESC's Women's Health Clinics located in Joplin, Carthage or Neosho.

This program provides a great service to the women in our area. Without insurance, Gardasil costs over $1000. It is a vaccine that targets four strains of the sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). Two of the strains, HPV-16 and HPV-18 account for about 70% of all cervical cancers. The vaccine is also approved to help prevent vaginal and vulvar cancers, which can also be caused by HPV.

This cervical cancer vaccination program is provided through a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. For more information about the vaccine or ESC's Women's Health Clinics, please contact our Joplin clinic at 781-4788.

The State of Missouri is taking action to stop the revolving door of incarceration for its offender population through Missouri's Reentry Process. Eight Missouri Departments have partnered to strengthen offender reentry practices. This initiative creates strategies to help offenders abandon crime as a way of life.

A public forum will be held on April 20th, 2007 to discuss these and other issues. The forum will be held at MSSU's Mills H. Anderson Justice Center (3950 E Newman Rd) from 10am to 3 pm that day. Lunch will be provided for a donation of $7.

The special guest speaker for the event will be Representative Marilyn Ruestman. Other presenters include Julie Boehm, Missouri DOC Reentry Division Manager and Steve Tatlow, Missouri Partnerships for Reentry, Boone County Involvement Coordinator. The forum is sponsored by The Alliance of Southwest Missouri and Missouri Southern State University, in conjunction with Missouri Partnerships for Reentry.

For more details and to register, please contact Jeanette Webley at 417-782-9899 or jwebley@theallianceofswmo.org.

Is there anything interesting going on in your department that you would like to share with our staff, board members and supporters? To have your information included in an upcoming issue of News from ESC, please contact Andrea Osiek at aosiek@escswa.org.