Economic Security Corporation
  Helping People. Changing Lives.

Long in the community, our history dates back to President Lyndon Johnson's declared "war on poverty", and the subsequent passage of the Equal Opportunities Act of 1964. Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area (ESC) was created in October 1965 as one of the original Community Action Agencies. We began operations with two employees and a first year budget of $76,000. We ended the 2005 fiscal year with 300 employees and a budget of $13,979,136, including in-kind donations. ESC is a private nonprofit corporation, that serves the clients in Barton, Jasper, Newton and McDonald counties in Southwest Missouri.

The Agency's mission is "to help families currently caught in poverty to find a way out, and to work within our communities to eliminate the conditions of poverty for future generations". ESC's programs are designed to have a measurable impact on the causes of poverty by assisting low-income participants to:

• Secure & retain meaningful employment
• Attain an adequate education
• Make better use of available income
• Obtain and maintain adequate housing and a suitable living environment
• Remove obstacles and solve problems which block the achievement of self-sufficiency
• Achieve greater participation in the affairs of the community
• Make more effective use of other programs

We have accomplished our mission from the very beginning by providing a full range of programs designed to assist individual's to break the grip of poverty. Our process begins with a tri-partite board structure bringing together individuals that represent elected public officials, representatives of the poor, and private interest groups within the community. The Board of Directors provide policy and direct the activities of the agency through the Executive Director.

Historians recalling the Community Action Movement

In 1965, the agency's first program was the "Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC)." It was under this program that the Adult Basic Education Classes were developed. Since that program, we have operated employment and training programs continuously. In conjunction with the NYC Program, another program called "Operation Mainstream" was operated to serve the hardcore unemployed over 18 years of age. Then for five years, beginning in 1967, our agency operated programs designed for training and retraining of Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers. ESC gained further experience and knowledge about operating employment and training programs when the "Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1974 (CETA)" came into existence. Under CETA, the agency operated the Summer Youth Employment Program, Youth Employment Training Program and others. This has culminated in the construction of four single family homes that have been built in Carthage and Joplin by youth participating in the Job Training Partnership Act using Title IIB funds.

Another one of the agency's early programs is Family Planning. ESC has operated a Family Planning clinic since July, 1, 1970. Among the many services provided are medical histories, physical assessments, PAP smears, testing and treatment for reproductive infections, health education and counseling, pregnancy testing, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and routine office and laboratory procedures. Office and laboratory procedures include hemoglobin, urinalysis, weight, and blood pressure. In November of 1998, our Medical Director began performing colposcopy biopsies on-site as a follow-up for patients with abnormal pap smears. Additionally, in April of 1999, we became a provider for Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Project (BCCCP). In addition to other services, our clinic provides pregnancy screening.

Our largest single program and probably our best known is Head Start. Head Start is the nation's largest early childhood program. We are now in our 44th year of providing Head Start services in our communities. Although considered a program for children, it is also a program for families, with a strong focus on parent involvement as well as providing comprehensive services designed to help the entire family become self-sufficient. Head Start components include:

• health
• nutrition
• social services
• education
• parent involvement
• community partnerships
• disabilities services
• mental health services

In addition, Head Start targets families involved in welfare to work activities. For example, some Head Start classrooms are open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM on a year-round basis to accommodate the needs of working families. Parent involvement activities are scheduled on evenings and on weekends in order to accommodate families' busy schedules.

Although our history records these three early programs, we further administer programs to assist individuals in the effort to become self-sufficient. Some of the other programs we offer include:

• HUD Section 8 Choice Voucher Program-ESC is the Public Housing Authority
• Housing for Homeless Families with Children
• Intake, Assessment, Referral and Follow-up
• Early Head Start for children 0-3
• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Weatherization
• Life Skills Training
• Earned Income Tax Assistance

The agency will continue to evaluate its programs to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the people we serve. The apostle Paul put it best when he spoke "there but for the grace of God go I".

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Copyright © 1996-2004, Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area
P.O. Box 207, 302 Joplin
Joplin, MO 64802
417-781-0352
For questions about ESC contact rhopper@escswa.org
For technical questions about this site contact Technical Support - www.escswa.org