Blanket Drive is Underway for Haywood & Jackson County Households in Need

For Immediate Release, October 16, 2024
Re: Mountain Projects and Rotary Blanket Drive

WAYNESVILLE & SYLVA, NC – The annual Community Blanket Drive is underway! An initiative between Mountain Projects in partnership with the Waynesville Rotary Club, has expanded to include numerous civic organizations, local banks, credit unions and the community.

“There are individuals and families in our community living without heat in their homes,” says Mountain Projects Executive Director, Patsy Davis, “We are collecting donations to support this serious need.”

Blanket donations are being accepted at 2177 Asheville Road in Waynesville and 154-B Medical Park Loop in Sylva. Monetary donations towards heating bills can be made online at MountainProjects.org/heatingassistance.

For several years, the Waynesville Rotary Club held a successful blanket drive during the holiday season, with donations going to the Mountain Projects to help families afford emergency needs like utility bills. In recent years, the Rotary Club invited other service organizations, including Altrusa, Kiwanis, Lions Club of Canton, Lions Club of Clyde, and two additional Rotary Clubs, Haywood County and Sunrise, to help increase participation. Last year, the event was renamed the “Community Blanket Drive.”

The 2024 Blanket Drive is in progress. There are three ways to contribute:
1. Purchase blankets and deliver them to local clubs or participating institutions, which will distribute them to Mountain Projects.
2. Haywood County blankets can be delivered directly to Mountain Projects at 2177 Asheville Road in Waynesville, across from Junaluska Elementary School.
3. Jackson County blankets can be delivered to 154-B Medical Park Loop in Sylva, located on the Harris Regional Hospital campus.
4. Order blankets through Amazon and ship them directly to Mountain Projects. Donors are asked to include their organization’s name in the address. The Amazon link below is provided to facilitate donations of blankets and children’s coats. The link is: https://amzn.to/3YeZFOs.

Please contact Bronwen Talley-Coffey, 2024-2025 President of Waynesville Rotary Club, with questions regarding Amazon purchases. (828)550-8350 or [email protected]. All items can be shipped to Mountain Projects at 2177 Asheville Road, Waynesville, NC 28786-3139. Office hours are 7:30 am until 5:30 pm, Monday through Thursday.

For other information, contact Bill Allsbrook of the Waynesville Rotary Club at 828-734-4536 or Patsy Davis at 828-452-1447.

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Mosteller is named HOP Coordinator

 

Christy Mosteller has taken leadership over the Mountain Projects Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) program.

HOP is the first program in the nation to use Medicaid funds to pay for a select set of services to address the food, housing, transportation and interpersonal safety needs of qualifying NC Medicaid Managed Care members.

Mosteller, who has been with Mountain Projects for more than 14 years, works with a number of health services organizations that refer eligible clients so HOP staff can coordinate the specific services they need.

According to Mosteller, the number of families who are referred to HOP continues to climb weekly.

“It is amazing work but all-consuming,” Mosteller said, shortly after finishing a food-box delivery. “I have a really great team, and we work well together.”

The HOP program serves low-income households in both Haywood and Jackson Counties and is reimbursed for all of its services through Medicaid funding. Currently, North Carolina is the only state participating in the program.

Part of Mosteller’s job includes overseeing the HOP Healthy Meal services program, which provides frozen or shelf-stable meals to promote improved nutrition. 

Food boxes are delivered or available for pickup weekly to HOP families to help supplement 1-2 meals per day. Each box includes whole grains, proteins, and vouchers for fresh fruit and vegetables from Duckett’s Produce and Christopher Farms. 

“That way families can choose what they want,” said Mosteller. “We always try to mix it up and make sure the families have a good variety.”

HOP funding is also available to help families find affordable housing and pay for their first month’s rent or a security deposit. 

“We also can help a family if their power or water has been turned off,” Mosteller said. 

Mosteller also partners with other programs at Mountain Projects including Haywood Public Transit to provide transportation to families, and has been able to provide funds to help with vehicle repairs. 

If you are on Managed Medicaid and believe you may qualify for the HOP program, call 828-452-1447 or email [email protected] to learn more.

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Community Action conference comes to WNC: The annual conference paid special homage to several regional leaders

This story appeared in the Smoky Mountain News. Link below this excerpt

True freedom isn’t attainable without economic freedom. This was the central theme of the 2024 North Carolina Community Action Association’s annual convention held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino last week.

The event, which celebrated NCCAA’s 60th anniversary, was held over several days and included trainings, break-out sessions, various speakers, and of course, celebration.

Community Action was created on the heels of a March 1964 message to congress from President Lyndon Johnson during which he urged the body to pass his Economic Opportunity Act. Ultimately, the act created the Office of Economic Opportunity, including the creation of Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to “strike poverty at its source — in the streets of our cities and on the farms of our countryside.”

While the event celebrated community action organizations around the state and was well attended by folks from the Charlotte area and the Triangle, Western North Carolina often took center stage, especially considering the group’s board president is Patsy Davis of Mountain Projects, an organization that serves Haywood and Jackson counties.

Read the story here

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Utility hikes and cold weather taking toll on fixed income households

 

This story first appeared in The Mountaineer

For more than a decade in her previous hometown, Kim Hammon, now of Jonathan Creek, operated a non-profit called “Street Angels” that helped seniors, veterans and single mothers who were in dire straits. Her organization assisted thousands of people through the unexpected emergencies of life.

Recently, Hammon found herself on the other side of the equation.

When her utility bill came in nearly double its previous high and she faced a potential cutoff, the retired teacher needed help.

“Social security isn’t a whole lot,” she says. “I have to budget my money.”

Like many, Hammon spends times of frigid weather in extra layers of clothing or at a relatives’ house. She keeps the heat warm enough to protect the pipes, and that’s about it. But also like others, she has seen her bill double – or more.

“When I got my utility bill I immediately thought ‘this isn’t mine’,” she said.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission approved a 7.7% rate increase that began last month, and increases will continue in 2025 and 2026 as energy providers work to transition to low-carbon energy sources. But Hammon’s electricity provider, Haywood EMC, told her that their rate hike was 18%. She was also told that payment options were limited.

“I said ‘are you kidding me?’” Hammon said. “I don’t know what will happen for people who live on less. It’s just shocking to be in this situation. They’ll shut you off, and I mean right now.”

Local social services agencies are stretched thin, and many people on fixed incomes, like Hammon, don’t fall into an income pool that would qualify them for help from the Department of Social Services. A recent study by the Federal Reserve entitled Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households found that more than one-fourth of American adults had one or more bills that they were unable to pay in full in a given month, or were one $400 financial setback away from being unable to pay them. 

That’s where organizations like Mountain Projects come in. Mountain Projects operates a “Winter Warmth” discretionary fund, maintained through community donations.

Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Davis says Hammon is an example of the type of emergency her community action agency often helps.

“Some of us can deal with price spikes,” said Davis. “And there are some resources for people with very low income. But people with fixed incomes, particularly seniors and the disabled are stuck. When the tulips start blooming these people will still be struggling. The early spring is a time we see disconnects go up.”

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Marla Wengyn is in the same boat as Hammonds. Wengyn, 58, lost her husband a few years back and lives with her special needs brother Charles “Big Mac” Hughes, 64. 

Wengyn has a twenty-year-old massage therapy business, but can’t work the same hours as in the past because of her age. 

Their house is small – 1,600 sq. ft. – and she keeps the thermostat low. They have few appliances. Still she says their power bills more than doubled this winter. Their bill for a relatively mild December exceeded $400, which left her puzzled.

“I try to use good judgment. Our thermostat stays at 64, and we wear thermal underwear,” Wengyn says. “No one is on oxygen. We cut back between 4pm and 8pm, when electricity is most expensive, but nothing seems to help. I open up the bill and it is very discouraging. It’s really frustrating.”

She reached out to the utility provider for an inspection, which was provided, but didn’t produce much she could change. She applied for a funded program through another organization to seal her crawl space, but her income exceeded their limit.

“I’m providing for us, but it’s getting scary,” she says.“ Is there a limit to what they can charge us? I can see that coming down the road. Do I eat or do I pay for my electricity? I feel for everyone in this situation.”

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When Amy Roberts’ husband passed away, she moved from the Waynesville home they’d shared for 37 years to a 400 sq. ft. tiny home in Jonathan Creek. She’s a retiree on a fixed income, and her move was complicated by a bad fall in which she suffered a broken neck.

Her home is relatively new, and her habits are frugal, but recent power bills have tipped the scale for her.

“They told me my usage had gone up 171%,” Roberts says. “Realize now, I live in 400 square feet. I’m trying to cut back on my usage, and we’ve had a little better weather, but it’s really hard.”

Last year, Roberts says, her bills were in the $80 range, but a recent bill reached over $200.

When she called to ask about a payment plan, Haywood EMC representatives referred her to DSS, but, like others, her year-round income exceeded their limit.

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There are common themes between the stories of Hammon, Wengyn and Roberts: they say local utility representatives are polite, but inflexible. And they say that drastic energy bill increases are the talk of the town. Also, Mountain Projects was able to help them all.

“I wouldn’t be in this house right now if it wasn’t for Mountain Projects,” Hammon says.

She remembers her work in the non-profit realm: “We helped to cover many expenses for people, and I understand the whole cycle of how this happens. The utilities and the groceries – it’s just startling and shocking to see that you can’t make ends meet. Mountain Projects was a Godsend for me and so are the donors who make emergency help possible. It’s just a miracle that people care. Tears were rolling down my face. I didn’t know what to do.”

But Davis says the organization’s pool of resources is limited. Most of its overall budget comes from grants, and those funds are restricted to specific programs.

“We can’t access restricted funds to support utility assistance or emergency funds requests,” Davis says. “That’s why we reach out to the community.”

Mountain Projects isn’t the only non-profit organization in Haywood County to help with these types of scenarios, but have received at least 100 calls for emergency assistance since the recent cold weather.  

“Low to middle income people are often living paycheck-to-paycheck and they are one high utility bill away from choosing between food and medicine. Rent, food and utility bills are so high these days. We appreciate donations to help community members bridge these situations. You just can’t let people go without heat in the winter,” says Davis.

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Staying the Course, Mountain Projects teacher achieves dream at 55

This story first appeared in the Sylva Herald

When Julie Keffer accepts a diploma for her bachelors degree from Western Carolina University in May, she’ll stand apart from most of her fellow graduates. For one thing she’ll have five children and 14 grandkids in the audience, cheering her on. For another, she’ll be at the end of a 27-year journey to graduation.

Keffer, 55, has taught for two decades at the Kneedler Head Start Child Development Outreach Center on the WCU campus in Cullowhee, but her path to a Bachelor of Science in Birth-Kindergarten Education began in Haywood County in 1997, and has taken her through twists, turns and painful places before leading her to the Ramsey Center stage.

It is the culmination of a dream.

“No matter what your age is, as long as you have breath in your lungs and a heartbeat, you’re not done,” Keffer said. “What I hope to show people is that you can finish your degree at any age. I encourage single moms to push for it – I was once there.”

Keffer enrolled her first son in the Clyde Head Start as a working young mother. Head Start is a federally funded child development program for preschool children from low-income families, and Mountain Projects’ Head Start program has educated Haywood and Jackson County preschoolers since 1965. 

At first, she volunteered in her son’s classroom with art projects and reading, but through encouragement from the staff she became inspired to teach. She was certified later that year, and began work as a full-time Teacher’s Assistant. 

“I see now it was my calling,” she said. “It just felt right.”

Not long after, as a single parent of two sons, she began Early Childhood Education night classes at Haywood Community College. Her father babysat the boys, Mountain Projects footed the bill, and Keffer set her sights on a four-year degree through a joint program between HCC and WCU. When she graduated from HCC, her employers were in the audience to cheer her on.

“That meant a lot to me,” Keffer said. “Not everyone’s boss comes to stuff like that.”

It wasn’t long before she was lead teacher at Kneedler, and in hot pursuit of her bachelor’s degree.

But then things got rocky. She took time off from school to care for an ill grandparent, and when she applied for readmission in 2006 she couldn’t get back into the Pre-K program. Her earlier GPA wasn’t quite high enough. For four straight years she appealed the decision, with essays and letters of recommendation in hand, but was denied despite support from Mountain Projects staff and its Executive Director, Patsy Davis. 

“Patsy told me, ‘I don’t know how you’re gonna do this – but you’re gonna do this. Just don’t give up,’” Keffer added. “I just kept hitting walls, but I kept the hope alive.”

Years passed, and a colleague, Christie Paxton, became director of Mountain Projects’ Head Start. Paxton engaged with the director of the WCU program and took up Keffer’s cause.

Things looked good, but then came the Covid-19 pandemic, and her progress stalled again. When in-person classes resumed in 2021, Keffer was admitted to the program at last.

“I was ecstatic,” she said. “I felt like I was finally going to make this happen.”

She and her family celebrated – prematurely. She contracted a debilitating case of Covid-19, followed by many months of recovery, and her return to school was delayed again until winter of 2022.

Even then, the challenges weren’t quite over. Her father fell terminally ill during her first semester, and she was his primary caregiver. Although she missed a lot of work she still managed to complete her studies. 

“I was in the hospital crying, typing, and doing homework,” Keffer said. “One of the last things my father said to me while he could still talk was, ‘Don’t give up, no matter what happens here.’ So, I just did not let anything derail me.”

Keffer is now a Dean’s List student. She credits Mountain Projects, “her second family”, for making it possible. Aside from years of support, the organization helped her earn a full scholarship through the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood North Carolina Scholarship Program.

And in May her journey will end at last.

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