Providence Community Action

Mission

Providence Community Action operates, promotes, and supports the development of progressive human service programs aimed at improving the lives of low-to-moderate income individuals and families in the city of Providence. Working with these very individuals to plan, implement, and evaluate the programs, Providence Community Action continuously strives to permanently eradicate poverty while simultaneously guiding people to self-sufficiency.

The Community Action Movement is Born.

In 1964, President Johnson declared a "War on Poverty." Legislation was enacted under the Federal Office of Economic Opportunity creating the Community Action Movement, a nationwide Human Service network at the front line of this War. Ninety six percent of the nation's counties are served by Community Action Agencies. Community Action Agencies are a primary source of support for the more than 34.5 million people who are living in poverty in the United States. The majority of CAA program participants are extremely poor, with incomes below 75 percent of the federal poverty threshold, or $9,735 for a family of three (the average family size for the client population).

Community Action in the New Millennium.

Advocacy and self-sufficiency may be currently the vogue, however, Community Action Programs have had the legal mission to advocate for the poor and help them reach self-sufficiency for more than 40 years. Today, there are approximately 1,000 Community Action Agencies in the United States, serving every community. Community Action Agencies are the pre-eminent community building, human service delivery, and low-income advocacy network in America. In Rhode Island, eight CAP agencies provide social services to almost 182,000 state residents. Every year Providence Community Action assists one third, or 33% of the states total.