Firefighters Spark Mesa’s Heart

January 30th, 2006, 1:55 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Sharon

Linda Paul says it all in her topic News From Our Adopted Town. Mesa Firefighters arrived on scene to assist a Katrina disaster area. On returning, they sparked the hearts of several Mesa non-profits, civic organizations, and Mesa Public Schools to move into action. But, what about you?It is the people in these organizations that make the difference. People who embrace a need, go into action, and meet that need. The heart of Mesa at work, that caring spirit embraced by organizations like these daily, seldom come to mind until a disaster forces us to look at the lives of those in need. Margie Frost and Mary Hutchinson, MesaCAN, and Darlene Duncan, Mesa United Way, became a trio in action presenting a check to a city resulting in appliances for 143 households. Some may be asking, "what about meeting the needs of those in Mesa"? Perhaps you’re not looking in the right places or knocking on the right doors! As I looked further I couldn’t believe what I found. Mesa is an appointed Community Action Agency CAA by the state. What an honor and what a wealth of services Mesa has made available.The City of Mesa Office of Human Services works in various ways with Community Revitalization, provide Human Services Funding Guidelines and Areas for Funding including the Model of Community Safety. The Day Labor Study results of the Day Labor Task Force en Espanol-Grupo de Trabajo para Jornaleros conducted in 2000. The Human Services Office works through Community Action Programs CAP and MesaCAN, Community Action Network - who contracts with local agencies to provide needed services for low-income individuals and families. I am amazed to see the helpful, long term solutions offered to assist in one’s personal life—circumstances that are difficult, providing a way out of crisis to a manageable life style. Providing practical needs such as computer training, help with taxes, financial planning, programs developed to build up our community!Mesa United Way - full of available resources for business, neighborhoods, grants, providing guidelines for needs you may not have thought of. Keep looking before giving up hope for help!