Economic Security Corp.'s mission highlighted for lawmakers
Jul. 22—State Sen. Bill White thought he had a good handle on the services provided by Economic Security Corp. — his office regularly forwarded requests for service to it.
On Thursday, he found out the group does much more than help people with utility assistance or weatherization.
"This was a learning experience," White said after a listening session with the group Thursday. "We knew about five or six programs at most, but there are a lot of programs here that we did not know they did."
Officials with the agency hosted White, state Rep. Ann Kelley, of Lamar, and White's chief of staff, Mike Kelley, for a program that highlighted a variety of its programs. The agency is affiliated with the national Community Action Partnership.
It runs and administrates 43 programs attached to an overarching mission of helping to reduce poverty and assist low-income families. Categories address homelessness, child care, health care, housing and job security.
CEO John Joines said that the agency is in good shape these days. It has benefited from federal COVID-19 recovery assistance and used that extra funding to serve more, he said. According to its 2022 annual impact report, the agency administrated $22,732,324 in such programs.
"We have been blessed both federally and by the state with income for virtually all of our programs, and additional benefits," Joines said. "I thank them for that. But our job is not done."
White said having a good handle on what the agency does is important. His office fields numerous phone calls from constituents asking for the sort of services it offers.
Thursday's program helped reaffirm the need for services aimed at helping senior citizens and families. White in 2021 was named chair of the Senate Seniors, Families, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee — a position he wanted because of how it aligns with his values, he said.
It also gave agency officials a chance to share concerns, from things as technical as grant-writing issues to overarching concerns about the effect of inflation on everything from building supplies to wages.
Additionally, knowledge of the work the agency does helps justify state expenditures to it, White said. He noted some of his fellow senators are quick to dismiss such programs as government handouts, while the nature of the agency's goal is to provide assistance that helps people recover and prosper to the point where they are no longer in need.
"I think there are some who just have a difficult time appreciating what people who receive these services are experiencing," White said. "If you haven't experienced poverty, it's easy for people to say it's freeloading, or they are lazy, or whatever. ... These people aren't lazy. Bad things happen, and they need help."
