Julia Roberts Goad
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON — “Helping People. Improving Communities. Changing Lives.” The mission statement of Coalfield Community Action Partnership (CCAP) was front and center when the agency dedicated its new central office building in West Williamson Tuesday.
The new location is a former showroom and garage of Moore’s Autogroup.
Coalfield CAP is one of the 16 Community Action Agencies in the state of West Virginia, a private non-profit corporation that serves residents of Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. They offer a variety of services and programs including Head Start, Community Services Block Grant, weatherization, personal care, assistance to seniors, and other services,
Opened in 1965, the agency provides comprehensive services to economically disadvantaged children, families, and the elderly and to enhance their quality of life by empowering them to become and remain self-sufficient. The agency was created under the administration of Lyndon Johnson as apart of his War on Poverty and has evolved into one of the largest social service organizations in the area. The agency operates five major federal and state grants along with some smaller programs.
Governed by a 12-member Board of Directors, Coalfield CAP employs 244 people. The agency’s Williamson office now provides services for seven West Virginia counties and two Kentucky counties.
CCAP’s Headstart serves children and families in McDowell and Mingo counties, with 46 classrooms. Head Start’s client population is primarily economically disadvantaged children 3-5 years old, with 622 children enrolled, and another 134 on a waiting list.
Some of the programs CCAP operates include Family Alzheimer’s In Home Respite (FAIR), which provides in home respite care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, the Lighthouse Program,assists seniors who have functional and medical needs in their homes, personal care services, which provides personal hygiene, physical assistance, feeding, light housekeeping, shopping and other services for those with medical issues, the VA Community Care Program, which provides in home services to disabled veterans and the TBI Waiver Program, which provides services that enable individuals to live at home rather than receiving nursing facility care. Their Weatherization Program, which is an energy saving program, currently serves Boone, Clay, Kanawha and Mingo counties, and is currently projected to weatherize 234 homes.
CCAP also partners with WVU Extension office and the Board of Education to administer Energy Express, is an 8-week summer reading and nutrition program for Mingo County youth entering first through sixth grade. Energy Express currently serves 232 participants.
A Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) has also awarded to CCAP.
The purpose of the CSBG program is to reduce poverty, revitalize low-income communities and to empower low-income families to become self-sufficient.
CCAP uses these funds to assist some of our separately funded programs as well as developed specifically with CSBG funds, such as providing emergency assistance for clothing and medication. Under the CSBG, staff also provides information and referral services by providing residents with current information about available resources and services provided by other entities throughout our service area.
Coalfield CAP asks anyone with questions about their new location or their programs to call 304 235-1701 or visit coalfieldcap.org.
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