WEST PLAINS – Missouri Governor Mike Parson and West Plains Mayor Mike Topliff have expressed support for Community Action by proclaiming the month of May Community Action Month.
Gov. Parson’s proclamation was dated May 3, while the proclamation from the city of West Plains was dated May 24. Both proclamations were presented to the Ozark Action Inc. (OAI) board of directors during their meeting on Tuesday, May 24, with Mayor Topliff attending the meeting in person to deliver the city proclamation.
May is Community Action Month across the United States.
Ozark Action, Inc. is a non-profit Community Action Agency founded in 1965 to serve the counties of Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Texas, and Wright in South-Central Missouri to coordinate and provide services for people with needs so that they can improve their quality of life.
Several programs that help low-income residents are housed under the OAI umbrella, including the Community Services department, which helps with homeless outreach, utility assistance for those in need, Medicaid sign-ups, tax assistance, and the local Salvation Army; area Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which provide educational opportunities to area children; the area Workforce office, which offers services such as job placement, training, workshops, and other career-related services; the area Weatherization program, which provides home improvements at no cost to the owner or tenant; and the area Housing Choice Voucher program (HCV), formerly known as the Section 8 program though the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with the Shelter Plus Care (SPC) housing program through the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the VASH voucher program for homeless veterans through the Veterans Administration and HUD, and Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers through HUD for foster youth exiting the system.
For more information on Ozark Action and their services visit www.oaiwp.org or call 417-256-6147.
