CSBG Pilot Programs

Human Services Continuum of Care Program
Human Services, Inc. - Columbus, IN

This client was referred to the program by Human Services Continuum of Care Program. She is the single mother of two young children. She has been on public assistance off and on for years with some limited success in holding employment. When she came to the EAFSSP Program, she had recently been laid-off once again from a factory job through a temporary employment office. She was not eligible for unemployment and was having difficulty being placed through other temporary agencies because she did not have her high school diploma or GED. (These are the trends that are causing great difficulty for many folks to find employment in this county. Work One now requires people to have been employed for six months in order to be eligible for unemployment. There are so many people seeking work, that besides requiring people to be able to pass a drug screen and criminal background check, employers can demand that people have a diploma or GED, and in some cases a clean credit report, in order to be considered for even a temporary job).

This young mother recently received a subsidized housing certificate through Columbus Housing Authority. She had found an apartment and had used her last paycheck to pay the deposit to secure the apartment. She received EAP for the 2009-2010 season, but when the moratorium was lifted in March, she was left with a large electric bill and was in danger of disconnect. Under HUD guidelines, tenants must be able to have utilities connected in their name in order to receive the subsidy.

EAFSSP paid the electric bill to bring her current on her service. This assistance eliminated the threat of having her service disconnected in her current home and allowed her to have service transferred to her new, HUD subsidized home. Now this mother had housing that was affordable and was in a position to keep current or ahead of her utility expenses, giving her the fresh start that she had not had in a long time. She was reluctant to participate in the Personal Finance Education sessions at first. However, once she started she became engaged in the learning and felt empowered to in her words “do better by my children.” She became motivated to go to McDowell to get her GED so that she could get a job that would allow her and her children “to live and not just survive.”

She did sign up for McDowell’s fast track program and experienced success with her testing and classes. She called me just to let me know how she was doing and when she did well on a test, etc. She came to the office one afternoon to again to tell me how fast she was moving along toward her GED and to thank me for helping her and for not making her feel like a failure because she had to ask for help. She asked for if she could give me a hug and received a big hug in return.