I had Bonnie an assesor come out to my house on 10/25/14. Bonnie was so very sweet. I am a mother of four and a very busy worker, because of the services that Community Action Agency provides I am now going to be able to save energy and money every month. I learned a lot of tips to help lower my pge bill and also be more energy aware. I never thought a service or company like this exhisted. I had an amazing expierence and I feel like I get a change to better our community by now being more enery aware. Thanks CAA staff and Bonnie!!!!
Hello,
I would like to thank all the staff at Community Action Agency; I have seen all that you have done to help out a friend of mine improve his mobile home, and made it so much nicer to live in. Because of the efforts of the agency, he was able to get all new windows and doors, as well as a new refrigerator, microwave, and more.
He willl be so much more comfortable this winter, thanks to all your help. Thank you all, and God bless you.
Karen
Dear C.A.A. staff and all concerned,
I thought I'd start this review of how some wonderful people helped turn what was a horrible year into a great life. I truly believe these folks are blessed by God in some form or another and are our angels of Butte County. It starts out woth the wonderful Miss Bonnie who appeared at my dooe one day in March. I was very down and depressed and ready to walk away from life. I am in chronic pain from an accident when I was an ironworker; I fell 3 stories and badly damaged my knees and my arms. I am in constant pain, and I have a wonderful doctor who tries to give me some quality of life with the use of painkillers. I also lost my wife about 3 years ago. I am disabled and live off my Social Security, which doens't leave much money for home repairs or extras.
Bonnie suddenly appeared at my door and asked if I needed some help weatherizing my trailer, which still had the original windows on, so it got very cold in the winter, also because I didn't have much of a heater.
The next thing I knew, my old windows were being replaced with new double-pane windows; I also got a new sliding glass door and a new front door. I also got a new refrigerator and microwave.
Shannon, Ricky and John turned my cold trailer house into a no-draft, warm home. It looks so beautiful with my new windows and doors. I feel very blessed to have gotten so much help from these wonderful people. I want God to bless all the wonderful people at C.A.A. Thanks so much for all your help.
Matthew Ormsby
10/23/2014
This organization is amazing to work with, in addition to the many wonderful services they provide. You would be hard pressed to find a better staff and group of volunteers doing their best to provide for the community.
Without this awesome community organization our program that serves expectant & new moms, would not be able to provide supplemental nutrition to our families! They have been very helpful & given excellent guidance to us!
Kari
3 yrs ago I was given the opportunity to work for CAABCI. In this time I have been humbled by the clients that struggle with chronic homelessness and substance abuse. I have been blessed to have a part in guiding those struggling, hopeless families find self-sufficiency. I am honored to work for an agency that's motto is "Helping people changing lives."
Thank you CAABCI for changing my life and so many others
Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. is not only a great help in our area, it is also a great place to work! It is a great feeling when you can go to work and help people every day who may not for a variety of reasons, have anyone else to help them.
We are able to help senior citizens, families in recovery as well helping people make sure that their house is energy efficient. Check out our web site at buttecaa.com, and see if we might have something for you!
Previous Stories
How can I describe all that Community Action Agency of Butte County has done for me. My first exposure to CAA was when they provided my childcare for my young son while I attended the Touchtone program in Chico, CA. The Touchtone program is day treatment for mothers that are recovering from substance abuse, of which I was one.
While I was still attending Touchtone I was receiving cash-aid and that required that I work at least twenty hours a week at a local location. I can't tell you how lucky I am that my cash-aid worker set me up with CAA! So I had always wanted to learn office work, but basically had no experience or skills when I began my training in December 2008.
I spent the next two years training in the office and learning many skills from something as simple as the correct way to answer the telephone to computers and all of the office equipment. I just can't say how much I appreciate all of the patience and dedication that everyone from the Executive Director on down have shown me over the years. After two years I was hired as a full time employee!
No one has ever made me feel like I was less than an equal because of my rocky past. I now work in the fiscal office and have learned a whole new set of skills. My self-confidence has always been low, but everyone in the fiscal office has taken the time to train me and they have confidence in me and that makes we want to do more ! I am now completely self sufficient and a good role model for my son.
Helping people. Changing lives.
That is exactly what Community Action Agency of Butte Co., Inc. has done for me. Changed my life. I could not be more proud of my involvement with this agency. I also am very thankful to that county worker that first paired me with Community Action Agency of Butte Co. Inc.
COMMUNITY ACTION, HAS HEP US ALOT. IF IT WAS NOT FOR THEM WE WOULD CLOSE UP.THEY ARE REALLY GREAT TO WORK WITH. We BUY 99 PERCENT FROM THEM. IT REALLY HELPS US.
Every time I visit CCA, everyone goes above and beyond to help me get the things I need for our food distribution. Every person there works so hard to make my part of the process as smooth and easy as possible. You all are great and we couldn't do without you!!! Thank you for your service and God bless you!
We here at the Oroville Gleaners Food Basket, have received help from our friends at the Caabc-1 in Oroville, they are knowledgeable, courteous, and caring to public needs. We have a membership of just over 200 people that we serve every week. This is due to the Community Action Agency of Butte County located now on 5 th avenue. Thank you so much. Virginia Harvey President of the Oroville Gleaners Food Basket.
I became an addict at the age of eleven. I did not know I had a problem until 21 years later, when I was on the streets with my two kids. I tried rehab, but did not fit in. I wanted with all of my heart to stay sober, and to make a new life for my kids. I slept on the floor at my sister's house for a year, and the main thing that kept me sober and hopeful was knowing that we were on the waiting list for the Esplanade house. I knew that any day our number could come up. I knew that when that happened, we needed to be ready (and I needed to be sober).
When our number finally did come up, I had no money, no job (I had been fired from my last several, so I had no good references), a criminal and eviction record, and a ton of fines to pay. There was no way that we could have found housing on our own with all of that working against us. My youngest son was in kindergarten. My husband was fresh out of prison. We had no driver's licenses and no car.
Despite all of this, the Esplanade House let us in. We quickly got to work. Our case manager helped us map out a plan. Within a few months, we had paid enough on our fines to reclaim our driver's licenses. We had saved enough to buy a cheap car. Within 18 months of entering the program, my husband discharged off of parole and became a certified welder, making well above minimum wage. Shortly after that, I graduated from community college. A year from now, I will be graduating from a state university, on my way to becoming an elementary school teacher, and hoping to touch the lives of young kids who may be struggling with some of the issues I had as a child.
Without the support of the Esplanade House, none of this would have been possible. My hope would have faded after a few months of sleeping on my sister's floor. I would surely have given up. I thank God every day for my sobriety, for my new chance at life--a life that is getting better every day. My kids have a bright future now, and so do I because of that.
It has been my honor to be associated with this non-profit for three years now and I have been impressed and humbled by the dedication this organization has in working to end poverty and homelessness. They are addressing everything from hot meals for at risk senior citizens, weatherization for homes that are open to the elements, housing for families trying to get back on their feet and the North State Food Bank for low income people to ward off hunger. They are trying to not only deal with the effects of poverty but also its causes.
The staff at E House are wonderful to deal with. Several times Ive had minor issues that required their attention. The issues were delt with quickly and efficiently. I felt like the E House staff went out of their way to make sure we were properly attended to. The employees appear to enjoy their work, judging by the smiles on their faces and positive attitudes. All are such a delight to deal with, let make sure they all get the thanks they deserve ;)
I am more than just an employee of the Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc., I am a part of the community and have been a client of the agency on more than one occasion. Without the help my family and I have received over the years, we would not be where we are today. We received assistance in the form of food boxes to feed our family and have had money put towards our PG&E bill during financial hardships. The most meaningful to me was when they gave me an opportunity working in the Administration Office as a PIC Worker in May of 2004; a couple of months later, my hard work and dedication to learn was acknowledged when I was offered a part-time receptionist/office assistant position (my first "real" job). I have been working here for over nine (9) years! Working here has brought me great enjoyment and love for what I do daily to support the Agency in "Helping People. Changing Lives." and knowing the services and resources we provide help people in our community when they need it most.
I have been involved and consulted with this project for two decades. It is unique and the only one I am aware of that aggressively and effectively accomplishes an end to the state of homelessness for the families they serve. It is not a "stop" like so many other shelters. Rather, it is an intensive abstinence based residency program that attempts to change a lifetime of habits for the parents and give their children a chance to have a normal life. In the process, programs such as this provide a true opportunity to end the generational cycle of homelessness that we see among these families. We need more programs such as this that make a real impact.
Hi. I first came to the E House in 1995, over 18 years ago. I was on Welfare and using drugs. I had one child in Foster Care; the other one I dragged around from place to place. The E House was NOT just a place to save money. They took each family individually and created a plan towards slef-sufficiency tailored to that particular family's needs.
My oldest child chose to return home from Foster Care and my case was closed. After Graduating the E House I enrolled in College and pursued a career in Case Management. I then returned to the E House as a Case Manager for the next 7 years. The E House saved my life and saved my family. Thank you.
I have benefited from the Esplanade House a Transitional Shelter Program for homeless families a program through Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. I was a drug addict, I lost my life, I lost everything that kept me going. I found the Esplanade House through Child Protective Services. It was a life saver. I was able to move into the program. I gained custody of my children, I got clean, I received the necessary skills to be a productive member of society again. They helped me with parenting skills, life skills and how to live a clean life free from the life of drugs. I was in Residential treatment while I was waiting for my application to be accepted. They help me get everything I needed for my daughter and I when we first moved in. They have an awesome counseling services, I have some traumatic events that happened in my life and they helped me walkthrough them. IF IT WASN'T FOR THE ESPLANADE HOUSE I WOULD NOT BE IN THE PLACE I AM IN TODAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
I went to live at the transitional shelter "Esplanade House" in May of 2005. I was homeless and I put my application in and although it took a year to be accepted.....what a blessing it was when I was accepted. I finally had a chance at creating a new life and leaving my old one behind. They showed me how I could make positive changes for the better. I moved in with 1 son and regained custody of my other son with the help of my case worker. They helped me obtain my GED, clear my past credit history and I started attending college. These are life issues I never thought possible. If your hungry, need household items and support...I received all of these blessings and more!
I eventually moved into my own home and now I volunteer my time at the Esplanade House.
On another note: Community Action Agency has a wonderful program helping with weatherizing your home. I've rec'd new double pane windows, closing up breezeways on doors and energy light bulbs installed.
CCA is a wonderful organization in so many ways...I could never thank them enough!
My wife and I were told this place could help us. We were getting older and the cold was causing us so much pain. Our house was old as well and she creaked like we did . . . she also blew a lot of air. The drafts were a nightmare and the windows leaked. After speaking with a lady from Community Action, they had delivered a whole chord of wood and then within the month they were at our house putting in weather stripping, replacing my windows and putting insulation in the attic.
Suzy and I are warm for the first time in many years. The first time it rained and howled outside my wife started crying and told me she wasn't aching in her bones and felt safe and warm finally.
Thank you to all the caring people who helped us!
I have benefited from the Esplanade House a Transitional Shelter Program for homeless families a program through Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. I was a drug addict, I lost my life, I lost everything that kept me going. I found the Esplanade House through a friend who benefited from the program as well. It was a life saver. I was able to move into the program. I gained custody of my children, I got clean, I received the necessary skills to be a productive member of society again. They helped me with parenting skills, life skills and how to live a clean life free from the life of drugs. I volunteered in the front office answering phones and learned employment skills. I eventually moved out of the program into permanent housing and was eventually hired as an Office Assistant at the Esplanade House and have now been employed with them for 8 1/2 years. If it wasn't for the Community Action Agency Esplanade House I can't even begin to tell you where I may be or where my children would be. I will be forever grateful for the support and skills they gave to me and my children. Thanks so much. :)
This is such a wonderful program; it has helped so many people in the community. I’ve heard lots of lovely stories from so many grateful people. Keep up the good work everyone
My daughter and I had struggled with health problems and finances after my husband left us. When I was sure we were days away from being homeless, I reached out to Community Action Agency. They arranged food for us to eat from the North State Food Bank, PGE assistance from their Weatherization Program and rental assistance from a woman at Esplanade House.
My daughter and I used to make a game out of spending the evening with candles instead of lights and splitting a can of cold peaches for dinner. Once I had put her to bed I would wonder where her next meal would come from and cry myself to sleep. The help I received from Community Action gave me hope for the future.