The Loveland, CO based Group Workcamps Foundation is working with SELF and the Hamilton Community Council to organize more than 100 young people and adults to do repairs on up to 20 homes in  Hamilton’s Second and Fourth Wards.  Partners of the local home repair project are seeking volunteer groups interested in repairing an additional 20 homes in July.   The cost of materials such as lumber, nails and paint is covered by donations from groups including the Hamilton Community Foundation, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Duke Energy and Hamilton Rotary Club and Butler Metropolitan Housing Authority.  Volunteer groups are asked to provide basic tools (i.e. hammers, screw drivers, drills and saws) and an adult construction supervisor. 

There are opportunities for all age-groups and skill sets to volunteer.  Projects may range from garden clean-up and beautification to painting the interior or exterior home and porch repairs. For more information please contact David Hastings at (513) 820-5024.

The Hamilton Firefighters are the latest group to donate to the project to support Group Workcamps campers and local volunteers.  SELF is seeking additional funds to provide support for campers and community volunteers- Included in that support will be welcome bags for all participants and refreshments for local volunteers not associated with Group Workcamps.  For more information, contact Kim Weigel at (513) 868-9300.

“We are incredibly excited to have the firefighters join our list of supporters,” says SELF’s Housing Coordinator David Hastings, “We are working out the details on even having some of them repair a home or two.”

“A Night of a Thousand Stars,” Supports to Encourage Low-income Families’ (SELF) 14^th Annual Reach for the Stars Awards Dinner & Auction, drew a large crowd at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hamilton on Saturday, March 27.  Even “Elvis” and “Marilyn Monroe” made an appearance at the gala to honor seven local volunteers, celebrate the successes of SELF clients and recognize outstanding partners and staff. 

This year, seven men and women were nominated for SELF’s Janet Clemmons Community Service Award, the most ever to be nominated in the agency’s 14-year history.  Amidst friends and family, these seven individuals were honored for their outstanding volunteer work in the Butler County Community:  Bill Fugate with SHALOM received SELF’s Janet Clemmons Community Service Award for his work with the homeless and abused women; Candice Keller with the Middletown Community Pregnancy Center received the Hope for the Future Award for her work with underprivileged families and mothers; Jodie Schrenker, a former SELF utility client, was given the Pay It Forward Award for her dedication to helping Ross Township residents and children; Darlene Deck and Aileen Geigler, Lifespan guardians, were presented with the Guardian Angels Award for the efforts with the elderly; Barbara Condo was awarded the In the Name of a Child Award for her work with One Way Farm, Inc., the Open Door Pantry and Fairfield Pantry; and Cathy Howell of the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities was honored with the Angel of Ability Award for her tireless efforts working with the disabled community. 

The Liz Claiborne Foundation was chosen for 2010’s Outstanding Partner of the Year for its support of SELF’s Project 2 Empower program for the past five years.  The Foundation was one of the first funders to help the program get off the ground in West Chester.

Dan Tracy, a landlord in Middletown, was also recognized as the “Agency Angel,” an award that is decided on by the SELF staff to honor an individual or business who makes an strong impact on its clientele.  Mr. Tracy has helped countless homeless SELF clients secure housing for their families.

Three of SELF’s clients received Client of the Year Awards to celebrate their successes.  Deshon Borders, an Aid to the Homeless client, was recognized for working with a support specialist to secure permanent housing, maintain employment and go back to school.  Mr. Borders will be graduating from MiamiUniversity in May!  Individual Development Account client Deborah Mills was honored for her work in our matched savings program.  She purchased a home for her and her grandson in February.  Candace Roseman, an Empower One and Getting Ahead client, was recognized for obtaining her goals of finding employment, affordable housing and among the first to graduate from Getting Ahead. 

To view more pictures from this event, visit SELF’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Supports-to-Encourage-Low-income-Families-SELF/79910849890. 

Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF) has been awarded two Best Practice Awards from The Ohio State University John Glenn School of Public Affairs. The awards were presented on January 20, 2010 at the winter conference of the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA), which represents Ohio’s 52 Community Action Agencies.

The awards were developed to honor innovative and effective Community Action Agency programs that measurably meet the needs of clients, families and communities by helping low-income people become more self-sufficient.  A panel of judges selected by the GlennSchool evaluated each nomination independently and assigned points based on their assessment of each nomination. 

SELF was awarded a Best Practice Award for its Individual Development Account (IDA) program, which has helped twenty participants purchase assets (a home, post-secondary education, or the capitalization of a small business) totaling more than $724,000.  The IDA program was commended for its success in teaching low-income county residents to make stronger fiscal decisions and the value of saving earned income toward a goal. 

OACAA and The Ohio State John Glenn School of Public Affairs also awarded SELF’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Super Site with a Best Practice Award for assisting more than 482 Butler County households prepare taxes and helping low-income families receive $432,000 in tax credit refunds in 2009.  The Super Site is a collaboration with ButlerCounty’s EITC Coalition which includes the Butler County Department of Job and Family Services, the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, and the Butler County United Way. 

”The IDA program and the EITC Super Site encourage low-income families to retain more of their earned income to help them become more financially stable,” said Jeffrey Diver, Executive Director of SELF.  “Also, both programs require substantial collaboration with other organizations in order to make the programs successful.  SELF strives toward excellence by providing programs to achieve long lasting change in families’ lives.” 

HAMILTON – Supports to Encourage Low-income Families, a co-sponsor of Hamilton’s 2010 Group Workcamps project, and the Site Identification Committee mailed more than 500 home repair applications to select homeowners of Hamilton’s Second and Fourth Wards last week.  These applications were sent to owner-occupied homes of low-income, elderly and/or disabled residents and are expected to be returned to SELF no later than December 18.

All pre-selected applicants fit the criteria developed by the Site Identification Committee as recommended by the Group Workcamps Foundation.  All applicants are owners of the homes that are potential work sites, are low-income families with small children, elderly, and/or disabled residents of the Second and Fourth Wards in Hamilton.

The Group Workcamp project applications are the first step in determining homes that might receive repairs during camp week, July 4-10, 2010.  Between 60 and 80 homes will become work sites during this week.  Neither SELF nor Group Workcamps guarantees a home will receive repairs until the week before the camp.  

The second step will occur in the beginning of 2010; the Site Identification Committee and community volunteers will conduct personal interviews and home evaluations for each of the homes applied.  The Group Workcamps Foundation will send staff members in the spring to begin developing work plans specific to each home that may be chosen out of the applicant pool. 

Since the initiative was first announced in June, Duke Energy, the Butler Metropolitan Housing Authority and individual have contributed a combined $2,050 to the project.  For more information on volunteering or donating to the project, please call (513) 868-9300. 

“Hundreds of families seek SELF’s help each year; all of which are striving to regain and maintain their self-sufficiency and improve their financial situation.  Sponsors can help these families have a joyful holiday season,” states Vanessa Jackson, SELF’s community relations associate.

If you are interested in sponsoring a family for the holidays, please visit SELF’s website at www.selfhelps.org/adopt and fill out the online form.  If you do not have internet access, you may phone SELF’s main office in Hamilton at (513) 868-9300 ext. 214.  Residents of Middletown may dial 1-888-432-7022. 

Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF) and the Community Action Partnership of the Greater Dayton Area (CAP) have collaborated to increase accessibility of the Weatherization Program in Butler County. SELF will serve as Butler County’s Weatherization Intake Center and sign up 1,500 households for weatherization services. CAP will continue to provide the actual weatherization measures for eligible households that apply for the service. 

“The Community Action Partnership of the Greater Dayton Area is pleased to have provided the Weatherization Program to Butler County for the past 15 years,” said John T. Donnellan, President and CEO of the Community Action Partnership of the Greater Dayton Area. “The partnership with SELF allows us to expand outreach efforts in helping Butler County families apply for and receive weatherization.”

The Weatherization Program helps low-income households, specifically those with elderly members, people with disabilities and families with small children reduce heating and cooling costs by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. 

Depending on the household, weatherization work may include:

·        insulating walls, basements and attics;

·        sealing air leaks around windows and doors with weather stripping or caulk;

·        cleaning or repairing heating systems;

·        wrapping water heaters, pipes, and minor door repairs. 

These home improvements, which can save families hundreds of dollars a year, mean struggling families will have more money for necessities like food, medical attention and clothing. 

“This partnership with the CAP of the Greater Dayton Area will integrate weatherization intake with our other energy-related programs such as the winter and summer Home Energy Assistance Program and Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP),” said Jeffrey Diver, Executive Director of SELF. “By linking the programs, we can provide Butler County families with as much help as possible in only one stop.”

SELF is currently accepting applications for weatherization services and has sent out over 900 applications to prior clients. Any families who have received assistance in the last twelve months under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Home Energy Assistance (HEAP, not including Emergency HEAP) are automatically eligible for weatherization services. Households who do not live in federally subsidized housing, and do not supply their own primary heat source are also generally eligible for services if they fall under 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines as stated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is an income of $44,100 for a family of four.

Weatherization applications are mailed to the homes of those who qualify.  A brief telephone survey with a Weatherization Intake Specialist at SELF will determine eligibility. For more information on weatherization or to receive a weatherization application, contact SELF at (513) 868-9300 or (888) 432-7022 from Middletown. Completed applications may be mailed to SELF, attn: Athena Maly, P.O. Box 1322, Hamilton, OH 45012.

As Butler County’s state-designated Community Action Agency, Supports to Encourage Low-income Families strives to provide the resources and support to enhance the quality of life for county residents by impacting the causes of poverty. 

The mission of the Community Action Partnership of the Greater Dayton Area is to work with local communities to eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty and to promote individual independence and self-sufficiency.