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What's New
National RCAP Visits West Virginia
West Virginia Rural Community Assistance Program (WV RCAP) was host to Robert Stewart, National RCAP Executive Director, on a visit to West Virginia. Mr. Stewart for years did field work like our WV RCAP staff with small water and wastewater systems before being hired for his current position in 2003. WV RCAP staff Dan Pauley, State Coordinator, and Nettie Harper, Technical Assistance Provider, introduced Robert to two of the 40+ communities where field staff work to assist water and wastewater systems to become more sustainable and improve the quality of life in their communities.
Robert informed Thomas Mayor, Matt Quattro, "It is good to come out of the Washington office and visit the small communities where RCAP works. It gives me a better background to stay connected with our rural communities when talking to Congress." Mayor Quattro explained the problems the town of about 500 residents in Tucker County was experiencing - not only the troubles with their wastewater plant, but the dilemmas of survival of a rural small town in West Virginia. He felt that providing services with tight budget constraints while meeting federal and state requirements of WV DEP, EPA, Bureau for Public Health, and WV PSC with a volunteer local government and four staff is almost impossible. Mayor Quattro gave praises to Technical Assistance Provider, Rick Watson for the expertise and free services that WV RCAP had been able to provide. He estimated that the free services were a savings of several hundred thousand dollars for his small town. While in Thomas, Mr. Stewart toured the town's water and wastewater facilities.
In Belington, a little larger town in Barbour County, with a population of about 2,200, Mr. Stewart met with Mayor, Carlton "Jody" Haller. He heard similar stories of the plight of small rural towns trying to survive in a declining economy while still expected to provide no decline in services. He welcomed the services that RCAP has given to his community. Chief operator Don Harris and operator, Robert Smithson provided a tour of the water treatment plant, a former WV RCAP water project, and Mr. Harris gave a tour of the wastewater plant, a current WV RCAP wastewater project, that is soon to be upgraded to a more modern facility.
WV RCAP had been able to provide free services to small communities throughout the state with water and waste water projects for over twenty years. However, with recent budget cuts resulting in loosing staff personnel it will be more difficult to provide free assistance to towns such as Thomas and Belington. Robert Stewart and the national staff are working diligently to find new funding sources to try to maintain and expand the RCAP program. WV RCAP is a program of the West Virginia Community Action Partnerships, Inc.
Poverty Numbers Up in West Virginia
According to the 2010 American Community Survey from the US Census Bureau, the poverty rate in West Virginia increased from 17.7% in 2009 to 18.1% in 2010. For a family of four, that translates to 326,507 West Virginians living on a household income of less than $22,314. West Virginia's poverty rate ranked 8th highest among the 50 states with the national average at 15.3%.
In 2010, the number of children living in poverty in West Virginia was 93,421. The child poverty rate increased from 23.4% in 2009 to 25.0% in 2010, 10th highest in the country with 1 in 4 children living in poverty. Conversely, the poverty rate for seniors 65 or older decreased slightly from 10.3% in 2009 to 9.9% in 2010.
With poverty rates rising throughout West Virginia and across the country, it is imperative that Congress and the Administration reject cuts to the Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) and Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Both programs are administered through the Community Action Agencies in West Virginia and assist low income families in alleviating the conditions of poverty and securing a sustainable future for themselves. The Community Service Block Grant Program provides core funding to the agencies to reduce poverty, revitalize low-income communities and empower low-income families to become self-sufficient. The Weatherization Assistance Program reduces heating and cooling costs for low-income families, particularly for the elderly, people with disabilities, and children, by improving the energy efficiency of their homes while ensuring their health and safety. To learn more about these programs and the Community Action Agencies who administer them in West Virginia, visit www.wvcommunityactionpartnership.org or www.goeo.wv.gov.
Family Medical Care Opens Dental Center
Judy Raveaux, CEO of CHANGE, Inc. announced that Family Medical Care Community Health Center, a division of CHANGE has recently opened a Dental Center, thanks to the kind and generous donation of Dr. Sucheta Luthra. Raveaux stated that she was approached by the Luthra's in the spring asking how they could assist the agency, and before the end of the meeting Dr. Sucheta Luthra, DMD, DDS was going to work for Family Medical Care as the Dental Director, and donated her entire operatory which included major dental equipment, x-ray and dental supplies for a year.
Raveaux stated that her agency has been working with a local dentist in town and the outreach dollars allocated to the project were exhausted just 4 months into the new grant year due to the increasing patient load. Fortunately, with the donation from Dr. Luthra and her willingness to work for Family Medical Care, Raveaux said she can now try to access federal dollars to help assist with dental needs of those residents living in the Tri-state area.
Dr. Sucheta Luthra is a graduate of Dental School, Pittsburgh. Prior to joining CHANGE, Inc. Dr. Luthra had her private practice in Weirton for 17 years. Her main emphasis in Dentistry is Prevention, Prevention and Prevention! Child and adults need to learn the importance and proper technique of brushing their teeth regularly. Children as young as 2 years old should start cleaning their teeth with children's tooth paste, stated Dr. Luthra.
Chewing tobacco is harmful for the mouth and teeth and is the leading cause of cancer in the mouth. Smoking is extremely harmful for teeth, mouth tissues, causes lung and other cancers and is also linked with multiple medical problems. Unfortunately, smoking and chewing tobacco starts at a young age said Dr. Luthra. Gum diseases lead to decay and early loss of teeth. By regularly scheduled checkups and cleanings, in addition to brushing at least twice a day after meals, can prevent cavities and major problems later.
According to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC), WV has the highest rate of tooth loss of adults age 65 and older in the nation; and 65.6% of WV children age eight have experience tooth decay as well as 66% of adolescents age fifteen. Thirty-five and a half percent of children ages six to eight years have untreated caries, along with 32.9% of adolescents age fifteen. With a state that ranks almost last in median income and a high rate of poverty, seeing a dentist is not a priority, stated Raveaux. Unfortunately, Medicare does not offer dental coverage and many private insurances offer it as a separate policy to employers and employees elect not to pay for it.
Raveaux stated that Dr. Sucheta Luthra will be working onsite Monday - Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Dental Center is open to anyone needing dental care by appointments or walk-in emergencies. Dr. Luthra's dental services include but are not limited to periodic evaluations, cleaning, treatment of cavities and gum diseases, crown and bridges, extractions, whitening procedures, veneers, and upper and lower dentures. For more information or to make an appointment, please call 304-748-2828.
WV Community Action At Work in 2010
In 2010, 16 Community Action Agencies (CAAs) in West Virginia provided services to over 130,000 individuals and nearly 60,000 families. Approximately 50% of the customers had incomes of less than 75% of the federal poverty level.
The core funding for CAAs is the Federal Community Service Block Grant (CSBG). CSBG is an essential anti-poverty program and in West Virginia, CAAs utilize CSBG dollars to increase agency capacity, community development, and family self-sufficiency through leveraging of additional funds. Although utilized as the core funding, CSBG only makes up about 14% of the total revenue for CAAs in West Virginia.
In 2010, West Virginia CAAs leveraged $15,955,359 CSBG funds into nearly $102 million additional resources for anti-poverty efforts in the state of West Virginia, $6.39 per $1 of CSBG. With these funds, West Virginia CAAs reduced or eliminated 220,367 conditions of poverty. For a full report on the 2010 performance outcomes for West Virginia CAAs visit www.nascsp.org to view the FY 2010 West Virginia CSBG Information System Survey.