About
We are driven by the philosophy of self-reliance for both the organization and the people we serve. Self-reliance for the organization includes not only being as efficient and effective as possible with our funds, but in changing the balance of State and Federal tax dollars with their restrictive requirements that prohibit exactly those activities and accountabilities that would ensure permanent self-reliance for the clients. It means creating a better combination of tax dollars generated by community citizens, local unrestricted funds from donors, and income-producing projects.
We will, and we should, continue to make good use of the tax dollars that citizens are assessed by the State and Federal government that return to the County in the form of various tax-funded programs (most of our core programs), rather than allowing our local tax dollars to be disbursed throughout the State because we have failed to use them in programs in our own area. Those State and Federal tax-return dollars, however, rather than focus on programs that would provide the skills and accountabilities to help people move forward, simply maintain people in a crisis 'status-quo.'