CSA: The Link Between Two Worlds

2007-04-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

I had an experience recently that really pointed out a unique feature of CSA.

I was in a local retail establishment and ran into one of CSA's major donors. We had not seen each other in a long time, so we spent several minutes catching up, talking about CSA and what's going on at the agency. This person is a major reason why CSA can provide the services we do.

Within moments, I was at the checkstand paying for my purchase. The person at the cash register was a CSA client. We spent a few minutes talking about what's happening at the agency and about one program in particular.

CSA is in a very unique position---even among other nonprofit groups---in that the people who pay for our services are not the people who receive our services. Imagine running a business where some of your customers paid so that other customers could get the product. No doubt it would be a pretty difficult sales pitch!

This puts CSA at a disadvantage when we raise funds for our services. People are much more likely to give money to organizations and issues that affect them or their loved ones. This also has an impact on our visibility in the community.

People are also much more likely to pay attention to organizations and issues that affect them personally. CSA is featured regularly in the local papers. We try to be good evangelists of our services and issues. I find myself speaking to all kinds of groups all the time. And we do reach civic and community leaders. Yet few people beyond our donors and volunteers, civic leaders and clients really know who we are and what we do. To many people, that speech they heard from me, or the newspaper article at the top of page 8, may or may not stand out as they compete for attention in an information saturated world.

To counter that lack of visibility among the average resident of Mountain View and Los Altos, our board of directors has established a Marketing Committee. This group of board, staff and volunteers has begun to plan for ways to increase CSA's visibility in the community. This takes greater importance as we will soon commemorate our 50th anniversary.

Will this work? Who knows? What I do know is that it will continue to be difficult to get people's attention for CSA---just as it will continue to be a challenge to get people to pay for a service that they don't receive.

The invisible nature of poverty

2007-03-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

I speak to two or three community groups every week. I enjoy each opportunity to reach out to people and share Community Services Agency with them. We’re fortunate that so many people support the agency and all the programs we provide. But there are always people in every group that look at me quizzically and ask, “Are there really any poor people in Mountain View or Los Altos?”

I thought of that question, simple and benign that it is, a few days after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, when I saw a commentator on television speak indignantly about those stranded in New Orleans after the storm. “They were given 36 hours warning,” he said. “If they are stuck now, they have no one to blame but themselves.” I was incredulous at his ignorance of the living conditions of those who did not have the means or the ability to flee the storm’s devastation. He obviously did not realize that some people do not have the ability to jump in their car and drive away from disaster.

Whether it’s a benign question born out of an ignorance of poverty and our local community, or a vitriolic assault on the victims of poverty and a devastating hurricane, both illustrate how hidden and incomprehensible poverty and need are to most of us. The fact is that poverty (and its manifestation as need) is no more than an arm’s length away from all of us. And yes, poverty and need do exist right here in our own community. Our statistics bear that out.

Local need exists for the widow trying to stay in her home supported only by a Social Security check and case managers from Community Services Agency. The need for an overnight in a local motel is there for the family who shows up at our office with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Need exists for the senior that wouldn’t get a decent meal if he didn’t show up at our Senior Nutrition program. The need is there for kids who wouldn’t get shoes, or school supplies, or holiday presents if not for our various children’s programs. And need exists the woman trying to escape her history with alcohol abuse and mental illness in our Alpha Omega shelter program.

The people I have mentioned here may not be right next door. Poverty tends to be segregated into hard to see places: neighborhoods no one drives through, encampments under freeway overpasses, apartments near public transit. Often it is shame and guilt and other uncomfortable feelings that keep poverty well hidden from public view.

That’s why it is so important for Community Services Agency to stay visible and active in our community. We pride ourselves for being on the frontline in the battle against poverty, hunger and homelessness. With your continued assistance, we will stay there.

Thank you.