CAASTLC, Inc. is now providing services to low income city residents. Starting last November The Community Action Agency of St. Louis County has put together a series of events and launched a variety of pro-gram services including; en-ergy education and assistance programs, GED, employment and life skills classes, youth mentoring,

substance abuse, counseling, emer-gency resources and more. For more de-tails about City Ser-vices Programs; read stories starting on page 7.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri House member is pro-posing legislation that would ask voters to ap-prove tougher regulation of certain installment loans.

The legislation by De-

mocrat Mary Still, of Columbia, would cap the interest on payday loans and some other install-ment loans at 36 percent

Approval by the state House and Senate would put the measure to a state-wide vote. Several similar

questions that don't require legislative action have also been proposed for the Mis-souri ballot.

Still has sought new lend-ing regulations in recent years and says Missouri's current regulations are too weak.

Pictured to the left, City Services host Christmas Party and Assistance Event

New City Services Programs

a Rousing Success!

Missouri House member files payday loan legislation

The SteppingStone W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

Pictured above, Youth Employment Program helps young people develop skills to provide a better outcome to their job search.

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

New City Services Programs

1

Healthy Environ-mental Living

3

Blaming The Un-employed

4

Reigning In Bank-ing Fees

5

Credit Unions As Alternative

6

Yeatman Middle School

8

Youth Employ-ment Prep

10

• CAASTLC

Expanding Services To Include St. Louis City Residents.

P A G E 2

The SteppingStone

The Series:

Brush up on your computer skills (5 week series: 03/05/12--04/06/12) *

Week 1: Basics Weeks 2 & 3: Email & Formatting Weeks 4 & 5: Word & Resume Prep

*Includes typing. Participants are subject to seating availability. Call to RSVP: 314-269-5210

Completely FREE! Sponsored by: CAASTLC-City Services

This project/program is funded in whole or in part with federal funds received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Community Services Block Grant, as provided by the Missouri Department of Social Services, Family Sup-port Division. The funds received from the Family Support Division are all federally funded.

Open Lab Mon-Thurs 9AM-noon

HP TECHNOLOGY CENTER

Location: Gateway Classic Sports Foundation 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.

St. Louis, MO 63106

CAASTLC-CITY SERVICES

A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT LEADS TO HEALTHYFAMILIES

P A G E 3 W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

Any frequent reader of the CAASTLC newsletter will notice a trend in energy saving tips and articles. En-ergy efficiency is an impor-tant topic CAASTLC pro-motes often because it not only can save money on utility bills; it also im-proves everyone’s over-all health by reducing danger-ous toxins in the environ-ment. CAASTLC is com-mitted to creating healthy, energy efficient homes in St. Louis County and one way we do this is by thor-oughly inspecting homes in the Weatherization Program for carbon monoxide levels, ensuring all gas appliances are operating safely and installing CO detectors in every home. Weatherization cuts down on pollutants in other ways too. By sealing air leaks, properly insulating and in-

stalling other weatherization measures, we can cut back our energy usage as much as 13.5%. This is a significant decrease considering Missou-rians get 80% of its electricity from coal-fired power plants. Coal-fired power plants across the state of Missouri emit 3,900 thousand pounds of toxic mercury into the air each year. Mercury then falls to

earth in rain and snow, contami-nates our rivers, lakes and streams, and accumulates in fish. Although anyone who eats fish is at risk, mercury is the most nefarious air toxic, especially for Missouri children. Mercury exposure can cause brain damage, developmental delays and neurological problems in fetuses, infants and children whose brain and nerve tissue is still devel-oping. This means lower IQs, learn-ing disabilities, and developmental disorders like autism in Missouri children. In adults, mercury expo-sure can cause tremors, inability to walk, convulsions and even death. Thankfully, on December 21st, the EPA issued long-overdue updates to the Clean Air Act that would limit toxic pollution from coal-fired plants. The new standard will re-duce power plant emissions of heavy metals including mercury, as well as arsenic, lead, chromium and nickel. With such alarming effects, it’s no surprise that doctors are eager for the mercury and air toxics standard to go into effect and reduce the number of emergency room visits, hospital admissions and medical

bills that are driving skyrocket-ing healthcare costs and hurting our economy. The EPA esti-mates that the proposed mer-cury and air toxics standard will avoid up to 17,000 premature deaths and 120,000 cases of ag-gravated asthma incidences, save between $57 billion to $140 billion dollars in heath costs, ever year. For decades, the EPA had ex-cluded coal-fired power plants from limits on mercury emis-sions and today nearly half of coal-burning plants still do nothing to reduce their toxic air pollution. The time has come for the EPA to cut mercury and its devastating health effects off at the source: dirty coal-fired power plants. The time has also

come for every individual to reduce energy consumption and this can start with attending a free energy conservation class held weekly at CAASTLC and signing up for the Weatheriza-tion Program.

Sources: Missouri Sierra Club and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Auditors from CAASTLC Weath-erization Team check client’s home for energy efficiency-creating a healthier living environment.

P A G E 4

BLAMING THE VICTIM IS WRONG CAASTLC Collaborates to Empower the Unemployed

By-James Ingram

Some prospective presi-dential candidates have a very simplistic solution for unemployment. If you want to reduce unem-ployment then get a job. He then expands upon the absurd by adding that “If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.” That sounds great when one is oblivious to real-

ity. However knowing that, statistically, there are 6 applicants for every job opening you quickly real-ize that blaming the vic-tims of unemployment borders on callous insensi-tivity at best. Fortunately the Commu-nity Action Agency of St. Louis County understands the necessity of lending assistance to the victims of an anemic economy with employment readi-ness education and job placement assistance through job fairs and col-laborative efforts with community and political leaders. Most recently CAASTLC, in conjunction with River City Casino, The Salva-tion Army Community Center and Congressman Russ Carnahan, State Senator Jim Lembke,

State Representatives Cloria Brown, Gary Fuhr, Marsha Haefner, Genise Montecillo, Scott Sifton and Councilman Steve Stenger held a successful job fair at the Salvation Army Community Center in St. Louis’ South County area. The event was attended by approximately 300 job seekers, with over 20 em-ployers and vendors par-ticipating. It was successful in that a number of employers pre-sent were seeking employ-ees for a number of exist-ing or ongoing openings within their respective companies. The positions ranged from labor to management-level positions which were rep-resentative of the job-seeking demographic who attended the job fair. This is the type of win-win formula, i.e., collabo-ration between the politi-cal, corporate and grass-roots entities that will be-gin the process of amelio-rating the inherent chal-lenges of a sluggish econ-omy and employment pic-ture Blaming the victim is counterproductive, demor-

alizing and does little to give to give hope or pro-vide opportunities to those who most need encourage-ment.

CAASTLC, at its core, pro-vides hope to the hopeless by, not only preparing indi-viduals to compete in an increasingly competitive employment market, but through providing those in search of gainful employ-ment the tools and the op-portunity to achieve the self-sufficiency which is so essential in achieving the elusive American dream.

The SteppingStone

Several job seekers turned out for CAASTLC-City/

County Job Fair recently held at the Met Center

CAASTLC holds quarterly Job Fairs to provide increased access to employment opportunities. There are usually a variety of Employers representing a rage of Sectors at each event; such as Industrial, hospitality, medical

P A G E 5 The Most Vulnerable Suffer from Banking Fees

by Cedric Jackson

Remember the good ol’ days when banks gave away a free toaster when you opened a check-ing account. It was a courtesy by which banks expressed their appreciation to average consumers for choosing a par-ticular financial in-stitution to forge a reciprocal business relationship. Now granted the toasters may not have been the top of the line, but it was neverthe-less viewed as a nice welcoming gesture on the part of banks. Well needless to say, those days have gone by the way of cassette players, mittens, and the VCR. And what about free check-ing? Again, a notable conven-ience slowly falling by the way-side as the banking industry embarks on never-ending ways to generate revenue. Up until recently, rather than placing a

certain emphasis on customer appreciation, banks had seen fit over the years to do a one-eighty. Anyone with an active checking account with any

number of banks in or around the St. Louis area probably no-ticed at some point those myste-rious add-on fees that popped up on monthly banking state-ments. Whether it was getting dinged with a fee for not main-taining a minimum balance to fees assessed for using an out-of-network ATM, fees were becoming an ever increasing burden on average and low-income consumers. Perhaps no banking fee con-tributed more in generating public outcry than certain banks deciding there was justification to start charging its customers for accessing their own money. Average consumers, many of whom had lost jobs in one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, were staring at monthly ATM fees as high as five dollars. Fortunately not all financial institutions joined the chorus of “banking fees are a necessity.” It was no secret those who least could afford the mounting

banking fees were the ones who would be the most im-pacted. Just imagine already having to live paycheck to pay-check, maintain-ing barely enough funds in a checking ac-count each month to cover the essentials, housing, utili-ties, food, maybe a car payment. And just when low-income con-sumers, or those getting by on a fixed income,

thought money couldn’t possi-bly get any tighter, all of a sudden they get hit with an extra five, ten, maybe fifteen dollars taken directly out of their account each month to cover the plethora of banking fees. At the rate things were going, consumers could’ve easily ended up owing the banks for the cost of banks warehousing our money. Yikes! We were headed to-ward the notion of paying banks to accept our money and allow us reasonable ac-cess to it. The good news is many of the larger banks who floated the idea of charging it’s cus-tomers for using their ATM debit cards have now aban-doned such a notion amid public outrage. And while the motivating force of public opinion can never be underes-timated, rest assured the banks also felt the watchful eye of the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Whether it was getting

dinged with a fee for not

maintaining a minimum

balance to fees assessed

for using an out-of-

network ATM, fees were

becoming an ever

increasing

burden on average for

low-income consumers.

Money Smart Week offers a variety of free opportunities to achieve financial fitness

The Community Action Agency of St. Louis County, Inc. (CAASTLC) and CAASTLC-City Services will be participating as a proud partner of Money Smart Week, which is a collaborative effort of several financial institutions and local non-profits.

Part of a national network of federally funded Community Action Agencies (CAAs), created by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964; CAASTLC provides services to residents of St. Louis County, while CAASTLC - City Services provides services to residents of the City of St. Louis and the City of Wellston. CAASTLC provides a wide range of services providing access to education, employment, family development, emergency services, and community coordination to assist low-income people out of poverty conditions.

Counseling and financial literacy programs are offered throughout the year. Two separate CAASTLC programs offer participants the opportunity for homeownership. CAASTLC coordinates a Home Buyers Club. In the Home Buyers Club, participants work to improve their credit history, complete "financial fitness" curriculum and homebuyer education classes, and meet one-on-one with a HUD certified housing counselor. In addition, CAASTLC has a Missourians Building Assets (MBA) program where all participating families have the opportunity to receive down payment assistance towards the purchase of a home. Classes and other activities aimed at improving the money management, savings, use of credit, and other financial skills of area residents are held at both city and county locations.

During Money Smart Week there will be a series of events appealing to a wide variety of audiences:

(1) Monday, April 23rd ~ Finding Ways to Save a. Gateway Classic Sports Foundation, 2012 Dr. MLK from 2:30 – 6:30 pm

(2) Tuesday, April 24th at Preparing for Home Ownership with Montgomery Bank a. West End Mount Carmel, 5935 Horton, 10 am & 11:30 am

(3) Wednesday, April 25th Your American Dream with US Bank & Better Family Life a. CAASTLC South City, 6827 S. Broadway at 10:00 am b. Better Family Life, 5535 Delmar at 6:00 pm

(4) Thursday, April 26th ~ Don’t Get Robbed, Protect Yourself from Fraud with Midwest Bank Centre a. West End Mount Carmel, 5935 Horton Place 9:30, 11, 1:30 and 3 pm

(5) Friday, April 27th ~ Credit 101 & Credit Counseling with PNC Bank a. Gateway Classic Sports Foundation, 2012 Dr. MLK. 9, 10 & 11 am and 1, 2 & 3pm

For more information about CAASTLC services please contact 314 863-0015 (County), 314 269-5210 (City); or visit our website at www.caastlc.org. For more information about Money Smart Week activities contact Janice McKinney at (314) 446-4429 - Janice@caastlc.org or Lisa Potts at (314)-239-1897 - lpotts@caastlc.org.

Our offices serving the Metro area are: 2709 Woodson (county) 6827 S. Broadway, serving South City, 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King, serving central city and 5892 Horton Place, serving North City and Wellston.

This project/program is funded in whole or in part with federal funds received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Community Services Block Grant, as provided by the Missouri Department of Social Services, Family Support Division. The funds received from the Family Support Division are all federally funded.

Contact Lisa Potts (City) 239-1897 or Janice McKinney 446-4429 (County) for more details.

Program Funded in whole or part with federal funds received from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), CSBG as provided by the Missouri Dept. of Social Services Family Support Division. Funds received from FSD are all federally funded.

P A G E 6 Credit Unions are offering payday lending alternative Jim Gallagher – jimgallagher@post-dispatch.com

To hear consumer advo-cates tell it, the problem really isn’t the 15 to 20 percent charge on a two-week loan. It’s that people usually can’t pay up on the due date, so they pay an-other 20 percent to roll over the loan, and another 20 percent two weeks later. Under Missouri law, pay-day lenders can renew the loan six times and collect up to 75 percent of the loan amount in interest. Once they hit the limit, borrowers can bring in their paychecks to pay off the old loan, then immedi-ately take out a new one for the same amount. So the cycle can go on and on. The Missouri Division of Finance says the average

loan is rolled over 1.6 times. It counts 1,066 pay-day loan shops in the state, and they made 2.4 million loans last year. That brings us to the alter-natives being offered by a handful of credit unions, including Gateway Metro and St. Louis Community. Gateway Metro lets con-sumers borrow $100 to $600 for 30 days. The charge is a standard $40. That about equals what a payday lender would charge on a $100 one-month loan, but it beats the payday lenders at higher amounts. The kicker comes when the borrower pays it back: 5 percent of the loan amount goes into a sav-

ings account. Since the aver-age payday customer bor-rows several times a year, the savings account grows. When it is big enough, the customer can use the sav-ings to handle an emer-gency, and break out of the payday cycle. “They’ll eventually save up enough to get back on track,” says Gateway spokeswoman Crispy Wirtel. Can the credit union make money doing that? “It’s profitable. Are we making a lot? No,“ Wirtel Says. “It’s more of a service than any-thing else. (314) 340-8390 – Posted: Sunday, January 30, 2012 12:00 am

The Spring news letter will have more information about upcoming events.

Money Smart Life Skills

Community Events Job Fairs

More More More

The SteppingStone

That brings us to the alternatives be ing offered by a handful of credit unions, including Gateway Metro and St. Louis Community.

Gateway Metro lets consumers borrow $100 to $600 for 30

days.

CAASTLC City Services P A G E 7 W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

CAASTLC City Services Programs & Services

CAASTLC adds seasoned professionals to management team to assist in coordination of city programs

Jackie Hutchinson; City Services

Director

Jamie Kirk Center Coordinator

South City

Ameren Missouri “Keeping Current” Program Case Management Dollar Help Dollar More Food Pantry Furniture/Clothing GED Classes United Way “100 Neediest Cases” Program

Employment Readiness & Placement Laclede Gas Affordability Program Life Skills Classes Youth Mentoring & Tutoring Poverty Simulations Step Up To Leadership Substance Abuse Counseling

Jackie Hutchinson services as Director for CAASTLC’s new City Services Pro-grams. She is responsible for the overall direction of the city staff and programs. Hutchinson implemented the federal, state and private donation programs in the St. Louis area for more than 30 years. She is actively involved in policy issues and being a voice for low-income consumers on a local, state, and national level. She is a founding member of Operation Weather Survival, founding member of the Committee to Keep Missourians Warm, serves on the board of National Center for Appropriate Technology, Missouri Consumers Council, National Fuel Funds Net-work and advisory capacity on the Public Service Commission Energy Task Force, the Governors Council on Energy and the Olive Branch and others. Hutchinson has a BS from Business from Washington University in St. Louis; and MS degree in Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis, from Southern Illinois Univer-sity in Edwardsville IL.

Jamie Kirk is the Site Coordinator for the CAASTLC South City Services of-fice at 6827 South Broadway. She has a Liberal Studies Degree with a major in Psychology and Management and a Masters in Gerontology. Jamie was previously with HDC as the Director of Neighborhood Services. Prior to that Jamie was the executive director of a nonprofit providing service to the elderly. She is proudest of meeting the nutri-tional needs of thousands of frail elderly residing in St. Louis City in her thirty year career. She especially looks forward to continuing that mission at CAASTLC-City Services through their food pantries, community gardens and effecting policy on behalf of the families suffering from food insecurity in St. Louis.

CAASTLC City Services Bring New Programs

to Yeatman Middle School

By Miranda Duncan

P A G E 8 W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

Yeatman-Liddell Middle School in the City of St. Louis was iden-tified for targeted resources dur-ing the first few months of CAASTLC-City Services opera-tions. Working with school ad-ministration, Georgie Donahue, Miranda Duncan and Shelly Collins designed a mentoring program for 7th and 8th grade stu-dents to improve their academic performance. Family engage-ment is also a high priority and two events were staged to draw parents and families to the school. CAASTLC-City Ser-vices provided fun activities – a DJ, bounce house, face painting and a clown – for Yeatman’s Fall Festival, attended by over 600 Yeatman families and neighbor-hood residents. We offered en-ergy savings and financial fitness workshops, and provided healthy snacks to reinforce presentations on nutrition and health. At the December Parent-Teacher Or-ganization orientation, we made sure there was a decorated tree, gifts and photographs with Santa. The party-like atmosphere en-ticed over 30 parents to attend the event and sign-up for volun-teer responsibilities as hall moni-tors and lunch room duties at the school.

Management Team (continued from page 7)

Myron Gray; Center Coordinator

North City

Myron Gray is currently the CAASTLC-City Services site coordinator for North St. Louis City and Wellston. His re-sponsibility encompasses (1) day to day operations oversight for service delivery at Westend Mt. Carmel Community Outreach Services, Inc., 5935 Horton Place, located in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood; (2) support to insure con-tract compliance and Results-Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) practices mandated to all des-ignated Community Action entities; and (3) agency and community capacity building alliances that will address area poverty conditions. A native St. Louisan, Gray has strong ties in the religious community and over 33 years of tenured service in commu-nity action. He majored in Business Administration at the University of Mis-souri. - St. Louis and is a certified ROMA professional. He is a 2012 re-cipient of Dr. Martin Luther King Sup-port Group Non-Violence Community Service Award.

The SteppingStone

Sundy Elizabeth Whiteside; Center Coordinator

Central City

Sundy Whiteside is a new Area Coordinator with Technical responsibilities for the Commu-nity Action Agency of St. Louis County- City Services. Her assignment is to implement and manage programs at the center located in the Gateway Classic Foundation to assist inner city clients and utilize technology to improve their lives. She is a member of the Na-tional Society of Black Engi-neers, Girl Scout Council of Greater St. Louis, Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Ms. Whiteside has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

P A G E 9 W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

tablish an after-school club focusing on citizen-ship skills. She also helped develop the Youth Em-ployment Preparation (YEP) program, consisting of a 30-hour curriculum in job readiness for students aged 14 to 17. “I feel

Miranda Duncan, Special Assistant to Administration, works with special projects in the City of St. Louis and Wellston. Currently she is working in collaboration with Mathews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club at Yeatman-Liddell Middle School to es-

privileged to work with such experienced and dedicated staff at CAASTLC—City Services, and to provide quality pro-grams that respond to challenges faced by youth whose families are stretched financially.

Miranda Duncan, Special Assistant to Administration City Services

CAASTLC-City Services & Gateway Classic Foundation Host Holiday Party for 200+ Families

Miranda Duncan Special Assistant to Administration

covered a range of topics with their students, generat-ing engaged discussion about positive self-talk and making decisions to em-ployment trends and how to write a resume. Guest speakers were invited to ex-pose youth to a variety of careers, including entrepre-neurship, accounting, con-struction, communications and public service in fire fighting and law enforce-

Seventy-nine students from the City of St. Louis gradu-ated from CAASTLC-City Services Youth Employ-ment Prep (Y.E.P.) Train-ing. Youth, ages 13 to 17 who qualified under CSBG 125% of poverty calcula-tions, attended 20 hours of classes and underwent a mock interview to be eligi-ble to receive a $200 stipend upon completion of the pro-gram. CAASTLC-City Ser-vices instructors Shardai Collins, Ron Kightlinger, Kandis Taylor, Sundy Whiteside and Mike Win

ment. One student summed-up her learning experience by telling her instructor, “ There needs to be more slots open to educate more young people.”

Seventy-nine students graduate from CAASTLC-City Services Program

Youth Employment Prep –by Miranda Duncan

Students gathering during recruitment & orientation at the Gateway Classic Foundation Building

The SteppingStone

CAASTLC, Inc. 2709 Woodson Rd. Overland, MO 63114-4817

(314) 863-0015 FAX (314) 863-1252

Email: info@caastlc.org