Mobilizing resources to end poverty ... Our mission is to help people meet housing, food, and other basic living needs.

Hello and welcome to the Clatsop Community Action (CCA) website.  Thank you for visiting.  My name is George Sabol and I have the privilege of being the Executive Director of this wonderful agency.  Hopefully you will find this web browsing experience much more enjoyable and user friendly than our old site.  Plenty of links are included for you to easily and conveniently connect to our partnering agencies.  My goal is for our website to help you either find or provide assistance within Clatsop County Oregon.  I consider this website as a continuous work in progress, so encourage your feedback to improve the site.

The CCA Board of Directors selected me as their agency’s Executive Director in October of 2007.  I was born and raised in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania.  I served in the United States Coast Guard as a commissioned officer and retired after 22 years of service.  I first came to beautiful Astoria, Oregon in 1983 as the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Industrial Base at Tongue Point.  I retired from the military in 1996, and worked as a manager and director with the Job Corps at three different locations in New York and at the Tongue Point Job Corps Center.  My wife Lesley and I have six children, two of whom graduated from Astoria High School.  I am a member of the Knights of Columbus (local council # 1307) and The American Legion (Post 12), The Astoria/Warrenton Kiwanis, and the Astoria Rotary.  I am on the Northwest Oregon Community Development Collaborative (NOWCDC) Board of Directors.  I am the Board Chair of Clatsop County’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and Vice Chair of Clatsop County’s Long Term Disaster Recovery Committee.

Here’s some history on CCA.  In 1984, community meetings led to the formation of Clatsop Community Action (CCA) and the opening of an information and referral service serving low-income people throughout Clatsop County.  In 1987, CCA became a United Way Agency.  In 1990, CCA was granted 501(c)(3) federal non-profit status.  In 1991, CCA became a Community Development Corporation (CDC).  In 1994, the agency acquired the Hilltop Apartments (22 housing units) in Astoria.  In 2004, CCA relocated to its current address.  In 2006, the City of Warrenton sponsored a $500,000 Business Oregon community development block grant (CDBG) request to partner with CCA to complete a feasibility study and to construct a new Regional Food Bank Warehouse.  The grant was approved in 2007 and construction is scheduled for 2009, with completion in 2010.

CCA offers a variety of services including case management, housing and energy assistance, temporary rental assistance, respite referral and assistance, and prescription assistance for low income residents of Clatsop County.  We also provide phone, facsimile, and mail message services for our homeless clients.  We operate the Oregon Food Bank’s Regional (county) Food Bank, 22 units of low income houses (duplexes), and a personal care pantry for basic necessities other than food (items which food stamps cannot be used to buy such as personal hygiene products, diapers, and cleaning products).

Clatsop County has continued to experience a large increase in demand for all social services, particularly for housing and emergency food requests.  Approximately 30 families, (including 30 children) are helped with shelter in our county on any given night.  Sadly, about 70 people (including 20 children) remain unsheltered.  An alarming statistic is that over the past three months we have seen a threefold increase over last year in requests for housing assistance.  In fiscal year 2008/2009 we increased our food distribution by 23%.  Over the past two years we've increased distribution by a staggering 50%.  Food insecurity in the county is a major issue we are attacking.  We distributed almost a million pounds of food.  Over 439,000 home cooked meals were made from our 14,664 emergency food boxes and over 155,000 hot meals were served through our local food pantries, shelters, and meal sites which are located throughout the county.  Unfortunately, the first half of this fiscal year has already shown a staggering 40% increase above the first half of last year in the number of people requesting food assistance.

Many of the clients seeking our services are individuals who have never before been in need of social services, but have been forced into the situation due to the current economic conditions.  We have a lower unemployment rate than some counties, but we also have many part-time jobs, lower wages and higher housing and utility costs.  Our working citizens sometimes just cannot afford shelter and food.  No one should have to choose between basic needs such as shelter, food, child care, medicine, heat, or other utilities.  Our case managers also help those clients lacking basic living skills to develop the skills needed for sustainability, so they will not continue to use social services.

Please consider Clatsop Community Action, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with your generosity.  Remember CCA for volunteer work.  We can always use an extra hand.  Every person has unique talents; yours may be the unique talent we need!  Remember CCA for in-kind work.  Your professional expertise could save us from paying for the same service, allowing the funds to be used for more direct client assistance.  Remember CCA in your estate planning.  Your estate can continue to help provide civic support through an annuity, trust, or will.  Remember CCA with cash donations.  It is mainly through your heartfelt financial support that our mission is kept alive.  You will get a receipt for tax deduction purposes for any donation.  Please note, in 2008 Clatsop Community Action became an "accredited charity" with th Better Business Bureau.   Accredidation can be researched at www.bbb.org 

Again thank you for viewing our website.  Enjoy your browsing!

Sincerely,

George Sabol     Executive Director,   Clatsop Community Action

                                                                                 Clatsop Community Action (CCA) is an equal opportunity provider.

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