Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
On Nov. 28, 1998, Jim Coons began his job as executive director of Combined Community Services.
Three years later, he now sees his job not only as the most difficult job he's ever had, but also one of the most rewarding.
"The thing that is so neat about what's happened here over the last three years is - before I took over - this place was positioned and poised to undergo a dramatic change," said Coons Tuesday. "My predecessor, Marty Courtney, had launched a series of grants and they hadn't really taken off yet, but she had captured those grants and brought them in.
"What that did was transform this place from ... just a pantry into an agency with a tapestry of solutions to the community problems that caused people to need food."
While CCS is known for its pantry, it has become much more holistic in its problem-solving, he said, and the community is generally not aware of that. That, he said, is unfortunate for two reasons.
"One, that they don't think to refer people to us that are having this kind of problem or that kind of problem because it hasn't gotten so bad it's a food problem. So we miss the referrals. We also then tend to miss their partnership with us in these more holistic solutions," he said.
One of CCS' programs is Project Independence, a three- to five-year program. An organization, business or person can sponsor a CCS client so they can find the needed resources to go on to college and maybe get some housing assistance.
"We have one person who is a poster child. Drug addiction. Who has left all that behind. Was a stripper in Fort Wayne and decided to change her life. Got out of Fort Wayne and came over here. Got into the Project Independence program. We have amassed for her $72,000 over the next three years worth of benefits. It includes a Pell Grant, it includes child care assistance - $15,000 worth of child care assistance. She's driving a Wheels to Work car. She's working with a project case manager who's helped her get housing assistance and various other programs - Hoosier Health Insurance for her and her children because she's in school now. She's working on her two-year degree. Now and again she gets some groceries and other items that are needed for the household and children."
Cost to support a client in Project Independence is between $4,000 to $10,000 for two to five years to help people turn their lives around, he said.
"That's what's needed to turn a life around. We have to get past the idea that a bag of groceries is going to turn a life around because it's not. That's the kind of programs Marty started that people here have built on."
Growth at CCS can be seen through its new programs and expansion of its older programs. Project Independence has gone from 30 to 40 clients. Wheels to Work program has been "birthed," Coons said. A full-time development manager was hired in the last three years to find programs and launch them.
"We've launched the jobs program because everybody who comes here needs a job or a better job or they wouldn't be coming here," he said. "So, again, people aren't aware of the services that are here so they don't refer people and they don't partner with us. Some of them were already in the works and some of them we birthed."
In the future, Coons said, they are looking at programs to help people with their taxes so they don't get burned with electronic filings. The Wheels To Work program will increase to help clients find good cars instead of purchasing vehicles at unscrupulous buy-here-pay-here car lots, he said.
"There are a lot of businesses that prey on the poor. They are predatorial practices," he said. "Those are areas where we are developing services to try to help in that area."
CCS is giving La Casa some office space to help Hispanics become "legal," Coons said, "and participate in the work of this county, much of which is agricultural." CCS is also bilingual to help serve the community's growing Hispanic population.
But with the new programs, the pantry will continue. "That is the core of why people come here so it's good that we're known for that," he said.
"... What's happened to CCS in three years is that it's changed so dramatically. We're now putting client benefits out the door. We're projecting this year to be $1.6 million or $1.7 million in clients' benefits. We're doing that with an administrative cost of about 20 cents on the dollar. ... That's the kind of growth we've had."
In 1998, CCS' total revenue was approximately $475,000. Total revenue for this year is estimated at $2 million. "That's a whole different organization. That's a factor of five," said Coons. "That's changed so much what we're doing down here."
Even with the phenomenal growth, Coons said, he hopes people will still get involved with CCS financially or through a program.
As for the long range, he said, "I see us developing programs that help clients but are self-funded."
He said he'd like to see more programs and to see current programs expand. "There's no limit to what we can do. There's absolutely no limit."
