The Alabama Poverty Data Sheet shows Alabama’s county by county breakdown of poverty, and its ranking across the nation. (file)

More than 17.2 percent of Alabamians live below the federal poverty line, according to the 2018 Alabama Poverty Data Sheet. That’s higher than the national average of 14 percent.

But community leaders are working to change those statistics. Ron Gilbert has worked as executive director of the Community Action Association of Alabama (CAAA) for 10 years.

CAAA was founded to support local community action agencies across Alabama in their work to eradicate poverty. CAAA provides resource development, training and technical assistance support to Alabama’s 21 community action agencies to help them deliver services to their citizens. Each agency is different, as it serves and responds to the needs of each local community.

Gilbert says his agency’s job is to help underserved Alabamians not only move toward self-sufficiency, but economic stability. He says one of the ways that happens is through clients developing a supportive network.

Community Action Association helps eradicate poverty in Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

The mission of the Community Action Association of Alabama is to assist other organizations statewide by providing training and resources to stamp out poverty. Its mission is the economic empowerment of individuals. The agency lists a number of resources on its website: www.caaalabama.org.

Gilbert said a big part of his team’s job is educating clients.

“We focus on helping individuals, through a learned process or a learned experience, overcome the challenges (of maintaining a household) that we all face in life,” Gilbert said. “In short, our job is to make sure every person has an opportunity to succeed. We put tools in place to help those who want a change in life.”

How can members of the community help?

“Every local agency needs volunteers to support programs, every agency needs financial contributions to support their programs,” Gilbert said.

To find out more about Community Action Association of Alabama (CAAA), go here.

The Community Action Agency of Alabama helps other organizations deliver services to underserved Alabamians through a network of state and national partners. (file)