Christine Zernick, who has a master’s degree in psychology from Duquesne University, became executive director in the fall, after the program went several months under an acting director.

Founded in 1965, Blair County Community Action is a nonprofit agency that helps people of lower socio-economic status become more self-sufficient, according to Zernick and information from the program website.

In partnership with other social service agencies, Blair CAP uses federal and local funding to help clients with a variety of needs, according to information on the organization’s website.

That includes “rapid rehousing” for people who are homeless or fleeing domestic violence; rental and utility assistance to prevent homelessness; services to families troubled by substance use disorder; and education and counseling on issues that include budgeting, borrowing, dealing with landlords, home ownership and fair housing violations.

Egan

Working with state agencies and a utility, Blair CAP also operates a weatherization program that installs insulation in homes and seals openings against cold weather, provides funds to pay heating bills and underwrites repairs or replacement of problematic furnaces and hot water heaters.

Blair CAP operates the Mountain Lion BackPack Program, which provides food on weekends for needy elementary school children in the Altoona Area School District. The BackPack Program’s new director is Billie Egan, former director of housing counseling at Blair CAP.

The program works with a long list of funding partners, including government agencies, a food bank, schools, school-related organizations, churches, service clubs and businesses, according to a recent annual report.

The program also operates a community garden constructed by a local Boy Scout troop with funding from a local business.

Zernick has been “strengthening relationships” with area agencies that deal with behavioral health concerns since she took the post, she said.

“We help people who are down on their luck,” Zernick said. “To be future-oriented.”

The federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the template for community action agencies to fight poverty, according to the website of the Pace Community Action Agency in Vincennes, Ind.

Local or state governments must designate community action programs, which all have “tripartite” boards, so that the general community, including the poor, public officials and the private sector are all represented, according to Pace.

Community action agencies are found in 96% of cities and counties in the U.S., creating a “national network” that includes national, regional and state CAA associations, a national lobbying organization and an association of block grant administrators, according to Pace.

Community action programs help clients deal with various needs “through a comprehensive range of coordinated programs,” according to Pace.

“Our priorities are about helping people in our community to live healthy and productive lives,” Zernick stated in an email message.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.