The Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri provides various services in the Green Hills area.
One of those services is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps households in need with utilities.
Executive Director Chris Small reports Community Action works with more than 40 utility vendors. Some of the vendors are municipal utilities, and others are statewide.
He has seen an influx of households finding it difficult to pay utility bills due to the very cold weather in February. Some utility companies were also deferring payments due to COVID-19.
Small says the situation has posed “kind of a double-edged sword” for Community Action clients.
The agency submits a yearly application to the state that in turn funds LIHEAP around the state. Funding is received for the winter and summer programs.
Small comments that the winter program is the larger of the two programs and has the largest number of participants.
Income and qualification guidelines apply for LIHEAP. If CAPNCM cannot help a household, they will attempt to find that household an alternative.
Another program offered by Community Action is weatherization. Small explains crews were not able to get into houses at the height of the pandemic due to COVID-19 restrictions but hopes are to keep production going through the summer.
Small says Community Action runs houses through a program to general profiles from which to work.
There is also housing assistance. He notes CAPNCM owns about 120 units in the Green Hills area. It also has Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher Program.
The Grundy County Public Housing Authority is part of the agency’s overall umbrella.
Small adds that resource boxes are located in courthouses, city halls, and post offices in the area where residents can pick up pamphlets and applications for Community Action services. Someone can call the main office to find out where the resource boxes are specifically.
Anyone interested in services provided by CAPNCM can call 660-359-3907 or toll-free at 855-290-8544. More information is also available on the Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri website.
The Community Action Partnership of North Central Missouri has also offered Women’s Health Services for almost 50 years.
Licensed Practical Nurse, Vickie West says the program provides various services in eight counties including Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Putnam, Clinton, Carroll, and Ray.
The services are provided through a mobile clinic that travels to counties in the service area. There are three dates in Trenton each month.
Executive Director Chris Small notes there are income restrictions to qualify to receive the family planning services. There is a sliding fee scale.
Small emphasizes that people at any income level qualify for Women’s Health Services. Most major insurances and Medicaid are accepted.
Small says a new set of federal guidelines comes out each January from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Title 10 is one source of funding for Women’s Health Services.
Community Action also offers the Show Me Health Women program, which provides services at no cost to clients.
West explains Women’s Health serves everyone regardless of age or gender. However, the Show-Me Health Women program requires women to be 50 to 64 years old to get a screening mammogram. The program also provides pap smears for women 35 to 64 years old.
Show Me Health Women clients must meet income guidelines, need to provide proof of income, must show photo identification, and cannot have insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare.
West says it helps when someone has an appointment for Women’s Health Services, but walk-ins are also accepted. When someone visits the clinic, he or she will fill out paperwork and see a nurse practitioner.
Community Action has partnerships with mammography providers in the area. Those agreements are with Wright Memorial Hospital of Trenton, Hedrick Medical Center of Chillicothe, Carroll County Memorial Hospital of Carrollton, Cameron Regional Medical Center, and Harrison County Community Hospital of Bethany.
Call Women’s Health Services to schedule an appointment or receive more information at 660-359-2855 extension 1055 or toll-free at 877-611-7600. Appointments for clinics in Carroll County are made through the health department at 660-542-3247. More information can also be found at greenhillswomenshealth.org.
