The Community Action Association of Pennsylvania hosted its highly anticipated 2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) summit at Harrisburg University, drawing participants both in person and virtually to address pressing issues impacting our communities. This year's theme, "Take Action to End Disparities," highlighted the urgent need to tackle economic inequalities and systemic challenges faced by vulnerable populations.

In the first episode of "The Thinking CAAP" podcast, hosts Beck Moore, CEO of Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (CAAP), and Amanda Hoprich, COO at CAAP, focus on enhancing workplace culture through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens. Beck shares super practical and actionable ideas for making simple but meaningful improvements to boost staff morale and retention. Together Beck and Amanda walk you through an easy "staff favorites" exercise that helps managers better connect with and support their teams.

We hope you'll tune in and send us your questions! Email info@theCAAP.org with the subject "Thinking CAAP." We can't wait to continue this community conversation with you!

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, increasing access to affordable housing correlates directly with economic growth. Research shows that the shortage of affordable housing costs the American economy about $2 trillion a year in lower wages and productivity. Additionally affordable housing is the most cost-effective strategy for reducing childhood poverty, Stanford economist Raj Chetty found that children who moved to lower poverty neighborhoods saw their earnings as adults increase by almost 31%. Children in stable affordable homes are more likely to thrive in school and have greater opportunities to learn inside and outside the classroom. It is important we begin to understand how affordable housing strategies can be made in Pennsylvania.

Westmoreland Community Action announces groundbreaking Recovery FARM. The FARM will be a long-term recovery community where individuals will live after their initial detox and residential rehabilitation. This project is made possible by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to develop a feasibility study and implementation plan for expanding the current recovery-to-work ecosystem in Westmoreland County.

The Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (CAAP) is proud to announce the winners of the First Annual CAAPtivating Awards, held on October 18th, 2023 at the Eden Resorts in Lancaster. The awards ceremony, held as part of the CAAP Annual Conference, recognized individuals in the Pennsylvania Community Action Network for their excellence, dedication, and hard work in the fight against poverty.

Sue Auman, Executive Director of Union-Synder Community Action, has been honored with the President's Award for her outstanding service and commitment to the community on November 14th, 2023.

CAP Infinity Intermediate offers specialized training for Community Action professionals. It covers organizational tools, problem-solving strategies, best practices, coaching, mentoring, project management, and SWOT and SOAR analyses to enhance leadership and strategic skills in Community Action.

Tri County Community Action, in collaboration with Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh and representatives of the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission, convened on Wednesday to kickstart the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) season. LIHEAP, overseen by DHS, is a federally funded initiative offering direct grants to heating providers for low-income households. Grants range from a minimum grant of $300 to a maximum of $1000. Additionally, crisis grants are available for those facing service termination or possessing less than two weeks’ worth of deliverable fuel, such as fuel oil, propane, coal, or wood.