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133 W Concho Ave
Suite 301
San Angelo, TX 76903
325.653.2411
1.877.41.CVCAA

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Cheers to 2023!

A Full Recap of 2023 Navigation Days

The New Year is fully underway as we approach the halfway point of February. However, as the dust settles of 2023, we’re looking back at our first full calendar year of Navigation Day events. Since its inception in June 2022, this collaboration has seen tremendous growth, and we’re happy to see the upward trajectory!

Starting off our look at the past year, on January 26th 2023, we held our first Navigation Day and Point-in-Time Count together on the same day. The Point-in-Time (PIT) is a nationwide initiative to take a census of our homeless neighbors by getting them surveyed in a 24-hour period. Both PIT Count and Navigation Day require a lot of work, volunteers, and multiple meals. We were very impressed by the outpouring of support from our community, and both events were a huge success. Until 2024, that Navigation Day held the record for the most homeless households seen in a single day with 82 households attending.

By May, our leadership staff began to realize that we needed a new place for our event to call home. We had quickly outgrown the Cactus Hotel Speakeasy, St. Paul Presbyterian Church, and the CVT Bus Annex. Tina Glass has been a key player in our homeless outreach efforts and offered up First Presbyterian Church as a solution. August 1st was our first Navigation Day at First Presbyterian Church, and the immediate feedback was very positive! The spacing didn’t feel as crowded, it was conveniently located downtown, and the environment was very warm and welcoming.

Through 2023, we were happy to be able to increase the number of community partners and services offered. Some of our newest services include bus passes, bibles, or warming items from the Through God Comes Justice Ministry, pet food and supplies from Feeding Pets of the Homeless, HIV testing with Shannon HIV clinic, apply for a phone through the Affordable Connectivity Act with a Catholic Outreach Volunteer, and hygiene kits from Somebody’s Rusty.

We are so pleased to say that we’ve gotten to move beyond just being a drop-in event but rather a place for neighbors to relax and simply exist safely. At the end of 2023, we had the opportunity to turn our December Navigation Day into a holiday-themed event, where we handed out more than 60 Christmas presents to our vulnerable neighbors. Holiday cheer was in full swing with a full Christmas tree, a hot cocoa station, a letter-writing station where people could send postcards to their loved ones at no cost, and even Santa Claus made an appearance. This event was a gift to our community members who don’t always get the luxury of celebrating the holidays in a warm, safe environment. 

We are so grateful to the numerous volunteers, agencies, and partners who have helped grow this event into a fantastic model of what seamless cooperation and passion can do! We hope that you will join us for our next Homeless Navigation Day the last Tuesday of the month from 9am-4pm at First Presbyterian Church.

2023 Navigation Day Totals

  • 785 Homeless Neighbor Visits (Duplicated)
    • 386 neighbors have received items from Rust St Ministries
    • 264 hygiene kits were given away by CVCAA
    • 174 neighbors received bus passes, clothes, help applying for a phone through the affordable connectivity act, or help connecting to other resources from Catholic Outreach
    • 150 neighbors have received ID/document or employment assistance through Goodwill Career Center
    • 236 neighbors received STD Testing, information, condoms, and/or HIV Testing from the TX Department of State Health Services and Shannon HIV Clinic
    • 109 neighbors received help submitting or checking the status of their TX benefit applications with CVCAA
    • 107 neighbors have been helped with healthcare with La Esperanza Clinic
    • 94 neighbors received help applying for housing from the Housing Authority of San Angelo
    • 88 neighbors were served by MHMRCV through application help, case manager contact, or Respite admission
    • 71 people received haircuts from volunteers
    • 40 neighbors received services from ADACCV
    • 40 people have received pet food and supplies through our Americorp Vista Chrysanthemum Crenshaw and Feeding Pets of the Homeless
    • 28 neighbors received employment assistance through Workforce Solutions
    • 9 neighbors received legal advice and assistance through LegalAid of Northwest Texas

Embracing Generosity

PaulAnn Baptist Church makes a massive donation to CVCAA’s hygiene closet

At CVCAA, we have always believed in the power of collective action and the importance of supporting one another, especially during challenging times. Today, we want to highlight the incredible kindness demonstrated by the members of PaulAnn Baptist Church, who have gone above and beyond to support our mission of providing essential resources to those in need.

In our ongoing efforts to address the critical needs of individuals and families in our community, one of our primary initiatives has been our hygiene closet with Superior Healthplan. This resource plays a vital role in ensuring that everyone has access to basic hygiene products, which are often overlooked necessities for maintaining health and dignity.

CVCAA’s Hygiene Closet began in early 2022 when we were awarded a grant through Superior Healthplan, and we have been incredibly fortunate to have been renewed numerous times. In our years of operating the hygiene closet, which is open to anyone who needs it, sustaining our hygiene closet requires continuous support from generous donors and community partners. This is where the compassionate members of PaulAnn Baptist Church stepped in to make a significant difference.

Over a few weeks, PaulAnn Baptist Church organized a donation drive to collect hygiene products for our community. Their dedication and enthusiasm were truly inspiring as they rallied together to support a cause that resonates deeply with our mission.

We were absolutely humbled when members of PaulAnn Baptist Church presented us with a donation totaling over $1,700 worth of essential hygiene items. From toothpaste and shampoo to laundry soap and feminine hygiene products, their generosity has filled our shelves and touched the lives of countless individuals and families in need.

To the members of PaulAnn Baptist Church, we extend our deepest gratitude for your generosity and support. Your donation will not only provide essential resources to those in need but also serve as a source of hope and encouragement for our entire community.

If you need any hygiene items, our Superior Healthplan Hygiene Closet is open 8am-5pm on the third Thursday of the month. Every household gets to pick five large, full-sized items such as shampoo, conditioner, adult incontinence briefs, laundry soap, and more. This program does not require documentation or proof of income. If you have any questions, please reach out at 325-653-2411.

Serving Those Who Served

The Concho Valley has always supported our active-duty military and veterans. CVCAA has been proud to serve these heroes with our programs, but in 2023 we extended that service to a program just for our active duty and veteran service members.

The Concho Valley is rich in culture and tradition, but one could argue the brightest gem in our crown is Goodfellows Air Force Base. While the military personnel who come to GAFB rarely get to stay for more than a few years, many of those veterans come back to San Angelo with their families when it comes time to retire.

According to the most recent data, almost 10,000 veterans live in the Concho Valley. That’s over 9% of the total population, well above the state average of 6.7%.  While not all of them will need help, CVCAA is committed to serving those that do.

Our Veteran Services Program is possible thanks to a generous grant from the Texas Veteran’s Commission. This grant, designed by veterans for veterans, allows us to provide financial relief to veterans and surviving spouses. With our Veteran Services Program we are able to help veterans catch up on bills like rent or mortgage, car payments and utilities when times get tough. We are also able to help with unexpected expenses such as restorative dental work and even funeral expenses, so veterans can be buried with dignity without leaving a financial burden on their widows.

CVCAA is proud to serve our veterans. We are actively working to expand our Veteran Services Program to better meet the needs of those who chose to protect us with service to our country.

To learn more about our Veteran Services Program, visit https://www.cvcaa.org/veterans-assistance or call our office at 325.653.2411.

You can help us serve even more veterans right here in the Concho Valley with your tax-deductible donation at https://www.cvcaa.org/donate-to-cvcaa.

 

Nothing For Us Without Us

Have you ever struggled deciding on the best gift to get someone for a birthday or Christmas? You can guess what they might like or snoop around their social media to dig up ideas. But the best way to know what to get them is to ask what they would like.

Turns out, the same rules apply to serving our homeless neighbors.

If you work in any part of homeless services, you’re bound to eventually hear the phrase “Nothing For Us Without Us”. The premise is simple, we can’t effectively serve our unhoused neighbors if we aren’t including them in the discussions about how to best serve them. Instead of guessing what to get them, we ask!

Several of our staff members regularly engage with our unhoused neighbors. We meet with them individually, see them at events, or even stop to chat if we run into them around town. But we know that serving this group needs to be about more than just trying to understand them from an outsider perspective. And that’s why we recently formed our Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB).

Each month, our staff meets with a group of neighbors who are either actively homeless or have been homeless in the past. Thanks to a generous grant from King Foundation, we are able to have fellowship over lunch, building the bonds as we get to know each other as individuals. But when the meal is done, we get down to business.

The LEAB is there to hold us accountable and ensure that our public actions and words about homelessness reflect the realities of their lived experience. This group is the first to hear when we are planning to launch a campaign or speak at city council meetings. But the LEAB is so much more than an accountability partner. By formalizing our relationship, we are able to provide platforms for our homeless neighbors to speak for themselves.

This was seen at our Homeless Symposium held this past November. Members of the LEAB shared their personal experiences and participated in a Q&A session where they shared the sometimes-harsh realities of homelessness in our community.

Through our Lived Experience Advisory Board we’ve learned that being an advocate for someone doesn’t always mean speaking up for them. Sometimes it means handing them the microphone. We can’t wait to see what this dedicated group of neighbors will do next!

From the Executive Director – February 2024

 

Over the course of the past year and a half, CVCAA has been a vocal proponent of engaging the community about the plight of our homeless neighbors.  You may know (or may not) that there are over 200 individuals experiencing homelessness in our part of Texas.  These are people living in the elements, in their car, under bridges.  On top of that, the school district estimates another 150-200 students who are homeless…couch surfing, living in overcrowded conditions.  That’s a lot of people in harm’s way.  And that’s just the start of the counting.  All across the Concho Valley we have neighbors who are one bill away from becoming homeless, having their power cut off, going without basic necessities.

I had a conversation with some of our local government leaders recently and several questions came up about what we as a community owe our at-risk neighbors.  Should we, as a society, continue to offer support to people who need it?  Do we expect our government to do something to assist these people?  Do our homeless neighbors deserve the continued outreach and support from the city, local businesses, non-profit agencies, and churches?

One might think that “well they don’t pay taxes so what do we owe them?”  It is true that resources are stretched thin in our local government and in our non-profits.  But these are people we are talking about.  If you are a religious person, these are people made in the image of God.  There are a lot of passages about “whatever you do for the least of these you also do for me.”  If you look at the Declaration of Independence, the bedrock of the United States, you’ll find We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. All are created equal.

All.

Not just the ones who have good jobs.  All.

This means the folks living in tent city.  It means the people under the bridge.  It means the person who looks scary to you, or smells funky, or needs assistance paying the bills to stay in their home.

ALL.

For everyone born,

Mike

Welcome to Tax Season

April 15th may seem far away, but the deadline for 2023 taxes will be here before you know it. Having a professional file your taxes can cost you hundreds of dollars and a ton of headaches. But CVCAA has a better solution. Our team of trained, professional volunteers can file your taxes in less than 30 minutes, and they’ll do it all for free!

CVCAA is proud to be a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site again in 2024. We have four highly qualified professionals that volunteer hundreds of hours each year to help low-income families get the most out of their tax refund without spending a dime.

Our volunteers will file your return electronically so that you get your return as fast as possible. We do not take any percentage or fee so 100% of your return goes directly to you.

Appointments will begin on January 18th, and you can call our office now to schedule yours.

Please visit https://www.cvcaa.org/free-tax-assistance to see program requirements and to find out what you’ll need at your appointment. You can also download any required documents to save time at your appointment.

Call our office at (325)653-2411 to schedule your appointment today!

       

Man's Best Friend

There is a special bond between a pet and their person. For most of us a pet provides snuggles, a welcome home, and loving companionship. For our homeless neighbors, a pet can also be protection while you sleep, warmth on a cold night, and a small measure of consistency in an unstable situation.

But caring for a pet while homeless can create an extra burden that forces some of our neighbors to choose between themselves and their dog when it comes time to eat.

That’s why CVCAA is so excited to be the first location in West Texas for Feeding the Pets of the Homeless. As a FPH participant, we are set up to take donations of food, leashes, toys, and other pet care items that will make taking care of a furry friend easier for our homeless neighbors.

These items will be distributed during the monthly Homeless Navigation Day. Additionally, we will be distributing through The Oasis Day Shelter at St. Paul Presbyterian Church. We have a great start on our supply thanks to Love ‘n Leashes. This supportive organization held a donation drive for our Pet Supply Closet and showed up in a big way to make sure that no pet goes hungry!

If you would like to contribute, we are accepting donations at our CVCAA office during our open office times. Monetary donations can also be made online HERE. Just select Feeding Pets of the Homeless as your preferred fund. Every donation received will go directly to caring for the pets of our most at-risk neighbors.

If you have any questions or prefer to schedule a donation time, please contact Chrysanthemum Crenshaw at [email protected].

New Year, New Changes

At CVCAA we are constantly looking for ways to improve so we can better serve our community. One of the areas we are always looking to do better at is making it as easy as possible for neighbors to apply for our services.

This year, we have modified our application process to help control the flow of applications and make sure that no one is stuck waiting for answers. As part of that change, we are now only accepting applications during the first full week of each month. This will give our staff a chance to process the applications and give each of them the time they deserve.

The only exception to this is for our veteran clients. We will be taking applications for our veteran services at any time.

You can find more information about the time frames and when we are accepting applications on our website at www.cvcaa.org/forms.

Please note that funds for utility assistance are very limited this year. If you need utility assistance for 2024 we strongly encourage you to apply early in the year.

Every Neighbor Counts
PIT Count 2023 (8 x 10 in)

We have all heard of the Census. Every 10 years, surveys are sent to mailboxes across the country and census workers knock on doors. All of this so that we know how many people live in our country and who they are. But what about our neighbors that don’t have a mailbox or door?

For our homeless neighbors, every January the Concho Valley participates in the Point in Time (PIT) Count. For one day, we will visit known campsites, soup kitchens, and windy underpasses to survey our homeless neighbors.

This information is used in the same way we currently use the census. Not only does it help us understand who our homeless neighbors are, it also helps us to help them. The information collected is used for grants and determines some levels of government funding for programs like housing assistance.

Last year, our team identified 198 homeless neighbors in San Angelo alone, but we know the numbers are much higher.

This year, we are asking you to help us be part of the team to make sure that every neighbor is counted. We are looking for volunteers to participate in this year’s PIT Count on January 25th. There will be shifts throughout the day so there are plenty of ways to help.

Sign Up to Volunteer or Donate Food

If you have any questions, please reach out to one of the event leaders:

Sidney Timmer: [email protected]

Jason Priddy: [email protected]

Your support shows our unhoused neighbors that everyone counts!

Click HERE to see the data from 2023.

From the Executive Director – January 2024

   

It’s a new year! We made it through 2023!  Onwards and upwards! Seize the day! Should old acquaintances…yeah you know the song. As we close the book on 2023 and open 2024 there are a lot of things to ponder and new things to wonder.  Maybe this past year was a banner year, and you were able to reach new heights and successes.  Or possibly 2023 had a lot of grief and sorrow in it for you.  One thing I do know is that with each new year comes 12 new months, 52 new weeks, 365 new days, and 525600 new minutes…or in the case of 2024 - 266 new days and 527040 new minutes thanks to the leap year.

How ever you look at this, we all have a chance to embrace the new, the unknown.  Many people use this time of year to make new year resolutions.  They try to change things about them or their situation and that is great.

Here at CVCAA, 2024 is bringing some new changes and challenges as well.  With Congress going back and forth on the federal budget, it affects what we can do here in the Concho Valley. One big change for us is that we are now only taking applications at specific times of each month. By the time you read this, we’ll be either well into our January application window (January 8-12) or past it.  February 5-9 and March 4-8 are our next windows. If you are a veteran though we will take your application at any time.  We know that this will be a big change, and a big challenge for some of the people we serve.  We’ve also fine-tuned our application process to make it more expedient and easier for those in need.

One thing that hasn’t changed though is our commitment to assisting those in need in our communities.  We hold dear the Promise of Community Action and work daily to enact it in our agency:

THE PROMISE OF COMMUNITY ACTION - Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.

New for 2024, I’m very excited to share with you the promise in Spanish!!  Kudos to our team for the translation:

PROMESA DE ACCIÓN COMUNITARIA - Comunidad Acción cambia la vida de las personas, incorpora el espíritu de esperanza, mejora las comunidades y hace los Estados Unidos un lugar mejor para vivir. Cuidamos de nuestra comunidad y nos dedicamos a ayudar las personas para que aprendan a ayudarse ellos mismos, y a los demás.

We try hard to make this promise a reality in all we do.  I hope you find it as inspiring as I do. “We care about the entire community” is powerful. 

Because of the budgeting situation in Congress our funds have been limited.  We have fewer dollars to help an increasing number of people in need.  If you are inspired by the Promise of Community Action, then I humbly ask for your financial support to CVCAA. If you head over to https://www.cvcaa.org/donate-to-cvcaa you can make a gift and become a Change Maker and help our communities. Working together we CAN make the Concho Valley a better place to live for ALL our neighbors.

 

For everyone born,

Mike

2024 Applications

As 2023 comes to a close, we are finalizing our plans for 2024. If you are planning to apply for services next year, here are some important dates that you will want to mark on your calendar now. Please note, due to some program changes, our application process has changed for 2024.

December 14th, 2023 is the last day to turn in a completed application or to send in any missing documents. It is important to note that if you are applying for utility assistance you MUST reapply in 2024 to continue receiving assistance.

On December 18th, we will have 2024 applications available in our office and online. If you have requested a mailed application, we will send those on this day as well. Do Not sign or return these applications yet.

We will begin accepting 2024 applications on January 8th. Applications can be emailed, faxed, mailed or dropped off in our office. Important, any application sent or postmarked prior to January 8th will not be accepted. If you are coming to our office, you must bring ALL required documentation with you. We are unable to accept incomplete applications.

We will stop accepting applications on January 12th at 5pm. Our office will remain open that Friday to allow for drop off applications. Any applications received or postmarked after this time will not be accepted.

If you are applying for Veteran Services, you may apply any time after January 8th.

Pending available funding, we will reopen for applications Feb.5th-9th and March 4th-8th.

If you have any questions, please call our offices at 325.653.2411

Are you ready to answer the call?

At CVCAA we are all about the “Action” part of Community Action, but we often get asked how members of our community can get involved. So to make it easier, we’re providing a round up of all the ways you can get involved to make a difference right here in the Concho Valley to end the year on the right foot.

Navigation Day

Every month, agencies from across our community come together to provide essential services for our homeless neighbors. It’s an entire day of service and caring in action. We are always looking for volunteers to serve meals, handle intake and help our neighbors find what they need. On December 19th, we’ll be holding our last Navigation Day of the year and we are going to end the year BIG. Presents, cocoa, and fun surprises will be in store for our most vulnerable neighbors. Join us for the whole day or just a few hours.

When: Dec. 19th 9am to 4pm

Where: First Presbyterian Church, 32 N. Irving St.

How:  https://signup.com/go/ipOgFjn

Into the Warmth

When the weather drops, it can be dangerous outside. That’s when we activate Into the Warmth, an overnight warming shelter for our homeless neighbors. We are looking for volunteers to help provide overnight supervision and donations of food and supplies.

When: Starting now and running through the last cold snap of the year

Where: Carl Ray Johnson Rec Center, 1103 Farr St. or Donate at our office 133 W. Concho Ave, Suite 301

How: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/1211978970074/false#/invitation

Donation list:

Water bottles, protein bars, bath towels, microwaveable meals (not frozen), hats, scarves, gloves, hand warmers, blankets, electrolyte packages, coffee supplies, cleaning supplies

Change Maker

When you make a monthly gift to CVCAA, you become a Change Maker for neighbors right here in our community. As a Change Maker, your monthly gift provides lasting dignity to local neighbors today and in the years to come.

Neighbors like Carroll. Carroll is elderly and has been unable to get around due to complications from Covid. She depends on her Social Security check to survive, but there is rarely enough to last the month. CVCAA is able to help Carroll stay in her home through our utility assistance program.

"Thank you to CVCAA and all of its people and sponsors for the help given to me the past few years. Your help with my electric has been a lifesaver and a blessing for me."

Thanks to generous donors like you, we can continue to support neighbors like Carroll so they can live in safe homes. Monthly donations allow us to support our neighbors all year long. 

When: Now

How: https://www.cvcaa.org/become-a-change-maker-today

 

What do you need?

Concho Valley Community Action Agency proudly serves eleven counties of the Concho Valley, providing household and family stabilization services to meet the needs of our community. To ensure that we are meeting the unique needs of every community we serve, every three years our agency conducts a large-scale needs assessment, including surveys, town hall meetings, and focus groups.

We are asking you to please take a few minutes to complete our #TexasProud Neighbor Survey. The purpose of this survey is to determine the most pressing needs of our neighbors. This information will guide our agency in our strategic plan so that we can work toward meeting these needs.

If you have any questions about the survey, how the information will be used, or how to obtain the results, please contact Sarah Negovetich at [email protected].

Thank you for being a part of our amazing community and for helping us to make the Concho Valley a place we can all be proud to call home.

Into the Warmth

Cold temperatures hit the area earlier that expected, but we were (kinda) ready and made sure that our homeless neighbors had a warm place to go. A limited number of hotels were provided by both the Homeless Planning Coalition and the Salvation Army. Additionally, we worked with the City of San Angelo to bring the warming shelter back online.

Now we have a few weeks of warmer weather ahead of us, but we know the cold is just around the corner. This year, we will once again be operating the Into the Warmth program to ensure that we don’t lose lives due to exposure.

The warming shelter will be open at the Carl Ray Johnson Rec. Center at 1103 Farr St. from 9pm to 9am during the week and 9pm to 6am on the weekends when the weather dips down into dangerous temperatures.

We are asking members of our community to come out and volunteer so we can ensure our neighbors have a safe and warm place to rest for the night.

You can learn more about the program and how to volunteer on our INTO THE WARMTH page.

We’ve received some generous donations so far, but there will always be a nice for cold weather gear and other survival items for our homeless neighbors. Please consider making a purchase from our Amazon Wish List or becoming a Change Maker by making a commitment to the Concho Valley!

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week

DID YOU KNOW...?

Over 200 individuals and families are currently on the waiting list for housing in San Angelo.

Over 170 students in SAISD are trying to learn while homeless.

San Angelo is one of the largest metropolitan communities in Texas without a homeless shelter.

WE CAN DO BETTER!

Join us November 11th-18th for Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week to learn more about how Homelessness impacts our community and what we can do to help our most vulnerable neighbors.

Want to get involved in other ways? Please contact Sidney Timmer at [email protected] to discuss how you can become part of the solution!

 

From the Executive Director – December 2023
Coffee mike

 

Listen Up, Concho Valley! 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, one thing I’ve discovered is that I enjoy a good podcast.  Like most things in popular culture, I tend to find things later than the rest of the world.  I enjoy learning new things…and listening to people who know things talk about those things they know.  Some of my favorite podcasts include Smartless, Stuff You Should Know, Office Ladies, and Who Will Save Generation X.  The last one of those is a trivia podcast that hits at two of my favorite things…trivia and Generation X nostalgia. 

This summer, I had the opportunity to visit with the leadership at the Community Action Council in Lexington, KY.  You might be thinking “Kentucky??”  Well, it turns out that one of my wife’s best friends from college is the current board chair for them.  Small world.  He connected me with Sharon Price, their Executive Director.  We visited for a day in their facilities and talked a LOT about their podcast series Lex Talk More Action (what a great name) and their video podcast Unapologetically Woman.  What the CAC has learned is that by utilizing these media forms, they are able to connect with their community in a new and exciting way. 

So, upon returning to Texas, I jumped at the chance to do something similar.  The result is CVCAA Unplugged: From Action To Impact.  In each episode, I get to sit with someone who is making an impact in our community…either as an individual or as a leader of an agency working with those in need. If you head over to https://cvcaa.podbean.com/, or search for us on your favorite podcast provider, you can hear some of these conversations. We’re seven episodes in, so if you jump on it now, you can be caught up in no time and ready for more! 

There is already a lot happening in the Concho Valley, and we should share the word about it.  My hope is that the more people we have in conversation about assisting our low-income neighbors, the more good we can get done.  

 

For Everyone Born, 

Mike 

 

Above and Beyond: Staff Recognition
Camille

 

All the staff here at CVCAA are rockstars, but every month our staff nominate each other for going above in beyond in serving our community. This month we are pleased to recognize the amazing efforts of Camille Duarte!

Camille has been with the agency for almost two years. She has spent most of that time as our Outreach Coordinator, serving as the face of our agency in the community, especially in our rural communities. Camille recently made the switch to become our Office Assistant. Camille is now the main person manning the front desk and is a smiling face greeting our clients and visitors.

Born and raised right here in San Angelo, Camille moved away for a few years, but the Concho Valley pulled her back in. San Angelo is where her family and friends are, and it’s where she is proud to call home.

Since joining the team, Camille has been instrumental in serving our neighbors. She’s learned just how large our homeless community is and how much need there is for the work that we do here. Her favorite part of her job is being able to provide relief to our neighbors, hearing their stories, and seeing the genuine positive progress being made from our assistance.

When she isn’t helping people and changing lives, Camille enjoys hanging out with her family and taking her kids to the park.

We are lucky to have Camille as part of our team here. Her smiling face is infectious, and we are proud that she represents CVCAA so well. Great job, Camille!

Until Next Year, Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week!

 

Recently, CVCAA had the honor of participating in Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, a nationwide initiative aimed at raising awareness about the critical issues of hunger and homelessness that affect communities across the country. The week-long event, taking place from November 11th to the 18th, featured a series of impactful activities, discussions, and campaigns to educate and engage the community.

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week is an annual national event, held during the week leading up to Thanksgiving. It provides an opportunity for organizations, communities, and individuals to come together to address the pressing challenges of hunger and homelessness, while also recognizing the dedicated efforts of those working towards solutions.

Throughout the week, CVCAA and the Concho Valley Homeless Planning Coalition hosted a diverse range of events designed to inform, inspire, and mobilize individuals in the fight against homelessness. These events included…

  • A Long Walk Home: Homeless Vigil on San Angelo City Hall Steps November 13th at 7pm - Homelessness isn’t just inconvenient or a struggle, it’s life-threatening. On the evening of our vigil, it was raining with a very low temperature. We were touched by the people that came out in that weather to honor those who cannot escape the rain and those who have lost their lives on the street.

 

  • Homeless Symposium at St. Paul Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, November 14th at 9am- Over 50 community members joined us to take a hard look at homelessness in our city and search for solutions. We got to hear directly from a panel of people who know first-hand what it’s like to be homeless and what obstacles lie in their way.

 

  • Quiz for a Cause at the Martial Pint on Tuesday, November 14th at 7:30pm - CVCAA took over Geeks Who Drink at the Martial Pint for Hunger and Homelessness Week! While teams of family and friends put their heads together, they got to hear about our services and how they can help be a part of the solution. After a fun night of puzzling questions and laughs, we had raised over $800 for our Mind the Gap funds, which help our homeless avoid falling through cracks in services!

 

  • Free Movie Showing at Brooks & Bates on Thursday November 16th at 6:30pm- To finish up our week, we held a free movie night showing the film Rosie at the Brooks and Bates Theatre in the San Angelo Performing Arts Center. Rosie is a film that follows a family of six 36 hours after losing their home, struggling to find a place to stay and shielding their children from the harsh world.

"We are deeply committed to the cause of eradicating hunger and homelessness in our community," said Mike Burnett, Executive Director of CVCAA and Chairperson for the Concho Valley Homeless Planning Coalition. "Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week is an important opportunity for us to engage with the community, raise awareness, and work collectively towards solutions that make a meaningful impact. It is going to take all of us to work towards a better San Angelo".

Bridge Builders Results
Apr 10, 2023   08:00 AM
by Administrator
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One important aspect of Community Action Agencies is advocating for our low-income neighbors to make sure that their opinions and needs are being heard. This is something CVCAA has started to pay special attention to in the past 6 months. If you visit our Facebook page, you’ll see multiple instances where our leadership team has addressed San Angelo’s City Council on important topics such as the need for a homeless warming shelter during the winter months or the economic and social impact of non-profits on our city. Our Bridge Builders Advocacy event on Saturday, March 25th was the first step in bringing our neighbors’ needs directly to our officials’ ears.

We began our Saturday morning with coffee, donuts, and juice at First Presbyterian Church with our two facilitators Jason Sabo and Amanda Shelton with the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies. Once everyone was settled and the children were in the kid’s rooms, Jason proceeded to lead a discussion with the participants on what they wanted to see continue happening in San Angelo, what should start happening, and lastly, what needs to stop happening in this city. Each table with people from different backgrounds and experiences talked among themselves and shared their desires for San Angelo. Table representatives would then share with the larger focus group, summoning up nods of agreement from other neighbors who have seen the same thing.

After fully discussing numerous aspects of the city, we collected all of the papers and returned to our office to consolidate the data into an easy-to-read sheet. Later that evening, we sat down with City Council Member Larry Miller, SAISD School Board Member Ami Mizell-Flint, and County Commissioner Rick Bacon. Jason Sabo went point by point down our collected data with the trio, asking what can be done and what efforts are already in place. Having representatives from different parts of our local governments gave everyone the opportunity to see exactly where the progress kinks were occurring.

For our local officials that were not able to attend, the Bridge Builders’ results were sent out to be included in their weekly communication packets. Our Executive Director Mike Burnett has also sent each invited official an individual email with the Bridge Builders results document and an invitation to sit down and discuss how we can partner together for the good of our community. This Bridge Builders event was an amazing first step in closing the gaps between our elected representatives and the people they vow to serve.

Click below to see all of the data collected at our Bridge Builders Advocacy Event!

Bridge Builders Results