|
B. Organizational Capability
<br />1. Provide the mission statement and vision of your organization:
<br />Mission Statement.-
<br />To
<br />tatement.
<br />To serve individuals and families by providing crisis care, case management, transformative education, food and
<br />household subsidy, employment training and placement, personal empowerment training and active referrals to other
<br />collaborative social service providers.
<br />Vision:
<br />Communities where every family has access to basic needs, nutritional food, crisis care, education, and employment
<br />training, and where everyone has the opportunity to achieve a future filled with hope and possibilities.
<br />2. Provide a bnet summary of your organization, including areas of expertise, accomplishments and population served.
<br />United Against Poverty, Inc. was founded in 2003 and over the past 20 years, has built a reputation for comprehensive
<br />programming designed to move low-income families out of poverty. Our expertise lies in following the "hand up and not
<br />a handout" model in a strategic, holistic approach that supports our neighbors experiencing economic hardships. This is
<br />the backbone of UP IRC.
<br />UP IRC has three core programs: the Member Share Grocery Program (MSGP), the Crisis Stabilization Program
<br />(CSP), and the Success Training Employment Program (STEP). These programs serve the population whose annual
<br />household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level in Indian River County (IRC).
<br />In addition to implementing these core programs, UP's building is strategically designed to support UP programs and
<br />multiple collaborative partners, including both a walk-in health clinic operated by Treasure Coast Community Health,
<br />and the FL Department of Children and Families. Other onsite partners include programs for housing assistance, AARP
<br />Foundation, substance misuse, mental health and homelessness. On average we have approximately 90 different
<br />nonprofits in the UP Center every year.
<br />Annual goals are reported monthly to executive staff and quarterly to the Corporate Board of Directors. This ongoing
<br />review keeps frontline staff focused, but also helps them to demonstrate anomalies quickly. With our ever-changing
<br />economic and housing markets, anomalies continue to arise and be overcome.
<br />UP staff continue to be determined and focused by adapting and expanding programs to meet the needs of our
<br />community. With their dedication, 2023 ended as a historic year across multiple impact metrics, and with the rising need
<br />in our community, we are forecasting an even bigger and busier year in 2024. To combat food insecurity, MSGP served
<br />over 18,300 unique households, a 53% increase over households served last year. The most critical impact metric we
<br />measure through MSGP is resources retained, meaning the amount of money our members are able to retain thanks to
<br />our commitment to a 2/3 savings over traditional grocery costs. In 2023, our members retained 7.5 million. That's 7.5
<br />million dollars that our neighbors in need can reinvest into other critical household survival budget items: rent, childcare,
<br />insurance, transportation, utilities, etc. At UP, our sole focus is not on lifting lives out of poverty but ensuring families do
<br />not find themselves one unexpected expense or crisis away from falling into poverty.
<br />The UP IRC Crisis Stabilization Program continues to see growth in demand and need. Forjust the second time in our
<br />twenty-year history, we met with over 1,000 unique IRC households in crisis last year and provided 7,000 units of
<br />services related to crisis stabilization, case management, and referrals to area partner social support providers.
<br />In 2023, UP's workforce development program, STEP, graduated 127 motivated individuals to improve their path to
<br />economic self- sufficiency. 86 secured employment with a combined annualized income exceeding $2 million. This
<br />growing number of adult participants is an indicator of the strength, efficacy and need of the STEP program in our
<br />community.
<br />s. dnerry nst any cerurncations anaior accreaitarions ooratnea Dy your agency.
<br />Our direct services staff are required to receive annual training from the Florida Department of Children and Families in
<br />Security Awareness, HIPPA, Domestic Violence and Civil Rights. Additionally, staff receive training from the Retail
<br />Learning Institute, a division of Coca-Cola, an online learning platform that provides internationally recognized
<br />certifications in Customer Service, Business Ethics, Sexual Harassment, Professionalism, and Safety and Hygiene.
<br />193
<br />
|