The History of MIFA continued The Maturing Years By the 1980s MIFA had assumed a form and shape which, while always open to change, guided its decisions as to policies and programs. In a world of many needs and few resources, MIFA found that the pooling of resources and cooperation with other agencies and groups could create innovative solutions to problems. Thus, during its maturing years it continued to initiate some programs, and assimilate others, spin some off either to other agencies or to an independent existence, and phase some out if no longer needed or effective. In some cases it has sponsored coalitions of agencies to accomplish a jointly-held goal. Of great importance in MIFA's maturation has been the growth in influence of its Board of Directors. Since its beginning, the commitment of highly qualified people of all races and creeds has strengthened MIFA's stability. In an attempt to further broaden its base, MIFA continues to add lay people with skills in business and financial affairs. The policy continues, as it has always been, to recruit people who share MIFA's commitment to the principle of meeting human needs, and a willingness to change programs as new needs emerge and old ones subside. It is probably apparent by now that describing MIFA's programs in a little like trying to catch quicksilver in one's hands. Gid Smith says, “As needs change, so do our programs.” There is an ever-changing, elastic quality in the programs themselves. There is constancy in the fact they always fill an unmet need in the community, and there is consistency in the way they are overseen by the MIFA staff. But any listing of current programs would omit many that have been begun, brought to a level of functioning well, and which are now no longer part of the MIFA list. They are, nevertheless, part of the history of MIFA. Continuing to address basic needs with workable solutions, MIFA expanded its hunger programs in the 1980's. A new source of food was becoming available from wholesalers as a change in the tax structure permitted them to receive tax credit for donations of food to food banks to distribute to agencies feeding the hungry. VISTA volunteer Virginia Dunaway was charged with establishing what would be known as the Memphis Food Bank. Once the challenge was presented, Dunaway began immediately to design the systems that would lead to efficient food distribution; volunteers Elizabeth Boyle, Mary Galbreath, and Missie Pidgeon helped to solicit donations and gather community support. After seven years of growth, it now distributes over 3 million pounds of donated food annually through over two hundred community agencies. Community support for this program is tremendous with over one hundred tons of food donated annually in local food drives; the balance comes from the food industry and the Second Harvest national foodbanking network. In 1986, the Thomas W. Briggs Foundation recognized Dunaway's outstanding work with the presentation of their annual service award and a $10,000 gift to the Memphis Food Bank. She later became an Associate Executive Director of MIFA overseeing half of its program services. Coordinated through the CASES (Churches And Synagogues Emergency Services) program of MIFA, twenty-four food pantries and two food collection and packaging sites are located in churches throughout the city. Their purpose it to provide a 3-day emergency supply of food to a family in crisis. Major food drives in the community, held by, among others, Beth Shalom Synagogue, Germantown Cares, and the Presbyterian Pennies for Hunger program helped meet the increasing demand in recent years. Betsey Reeder, who directs the Food Pantries and Clothes Closets, cites an incident that demonstrates the value of such emergency services: “A young woman came in on a cold winter Friday, actually trembling with fear and hunger. Her husband and two children were outside in an old, beat-up car. She did not know where to turn, or what to do to feed her family. You could visibly witness the shedding of fear as she realized that, with a food basket, they would be able to eat over the weekend. We are here to make sure that that traumatic experience is a little less terrifying, and to help people to get other available assistance.” Generally accompanying the need for food is the need for clothing. The MIFA Clothes Closet, located in the First United Methodist Church at Poplar and Second, is kept open five days a week by a staff person and volunteers. The closet is stocked with good usable clothes donated by the community, as well as some new clothes given by merchants. The store-like set-up allows clients to come and select two outfits per family member to suit their tastes and meet their needs. Formerly social workers had selected clothes for their needy clients, but in this system, the client “shops” in dignity. In the 1980s MIFA continues to operate programs designed to enrich the lives of the elderly. The Mid-South Senior, a newspaper funded by the Memphis Delta Area Agency, was begun in November, 1980, by first editor Nancy Wakeman. Now 27,500 copies monthly provide pertinent information, resources, and entertainment targeted toward seniors' special needs. Under current Director Martha Graber, volunteers deliver the free newspapers to over 400 locations throughout the city. Caregivers help congregations to identify the needs of their elderly homebound members to recruit, train, and assist volunteers in meeting those needs. Skills are developed in direct care services, visitation, shopping, meal preparation, personal and household cares. Funded originally by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, its first director was Rose Wallace. Share-A-Home is a project that offers a measure of independence to elderly homeowners by matching them with a housemate to provide companionship, security, services, and to share expenses, if appropriate. The program headed by Mimi Carriere and currently makes about 50 such matches a year. Senior Companions are themselves low-income persons, who are trained by MIFA to care for frail, homebound elderly. This home care enables patients to leave the hospital more quickly or to remain at home instead of in an institution. The Senior Companions receive a small stipend, lunch, transportation, and the joy of helping someone in need. Coordinated Care is a case management program begun on October 1, 1985. It coordinates the delivery of services to the elderly in Shelby, Fayette, Lauderdale, and Tipton counties. A client's needs are assessed and case management plan is developed by a trained social worker. Volunteer case managers are recruited and trained by MIFA to work with the client in implementing this plan. Programs relating to emerging needs in the community continued to receive attention during the 1980s. A crisis in the supply of oil caused the price of utilities to rise beyond the ability of many of the poor to pay. In a cooperative venture with the Memphis Light, Gas, and Water Division called Plus 1, donated dollars are collected from utility customers who authorize a dollar or more to be added to their monthly bills. The funds gained are administered by MIFA to provide one-time assistance to families in crisis. This program represents a new way to assist the needy, and its success reveals this community's sensitivity to people in need. MIFA was selected in the 1980s to administer the Memphis Emergency Assistance Program, funded by the City of Memphis to provide emergency rent, mortgage, and utility assistance. These funds can be used in conjunction with CASES monies which do not have the same restrictive guidelines, thus extending the opportunity to help. MIFA added to its transportation programs in the 1980s. For seniors, it offers transportation for medical reasons. It operates a rural transportation service in Tipton, Lauderdale, Fayette, and non-urban Shelby Counties. In addition, it transports handicapped children as well as children in foster care. Director Jacqueline Williamson manages a fleet of 60 vehicles and the computerized recordkeeping system. Included in MIFA programs are some directed toward helping people help themselves. City Slickers was begun in 1982 to provide community service summer jobs to disadvantaged young people. At that time the city had to eliminate many jobs in the areas of maintenance and beautification. The City Slickers began to perform these services while receiving training for jobs they could hold in the future. In 1985 an after-school employment program was begun for City Slickers who received good evaluations in the summer program. Currently about 80 young people can work as City Slickers each summer and the variety of jobs has been expanded, allowing for experience in clerical, computer, social service, and weatherization skills. The program is designed to teach these young people the value of a job. Through City Slickers they earn paychecks, pride, and performance records for a brighter future. MIFA's Job Bank was established in conjunction with the Memphis Ministers Association to find employment for people screened and recommended by congregations. Job listings are also provided by congregations and their contacts. A recent grant from the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church's Board for Social Ministry Services provides funds to teach job skills to repetitive job seekers. Counseling is provided by peer groups within the churches, giving the client a “buddy” for support as well as a series of training workshops. A job training schedule is planned to recruit additional companion aides, and to offer a support group for those who are already employed. Peggy Ivy, who has directed all of MIFA's job related services, says, “Our Companion Aides are very caring people, who are truly interested in helping people regain their health. It will be wonderful for them to have this extra support, and it dignifies what they do.” November, 1983, marked the beginning of Emergency Homes for Families, an innovative program which has brought national praise to MIFA. In an article entitled “Finally, Hope for the Homeless-Five Approaches that Work”, US News and World Report of February 1988 cited this program as one of five in the nation that actually helps the people and the problem. Emergency Homes for Families is innovative in concept and in execution; it was the first program in the area to keep families together in time of crisis and it represents a partnership between HUD, the City of Memphis, MIFA, and area agencies. Originally ten homes were leased from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for one dollar a year. Later a Presbyterian Church made available a manse, a disbanding agency deeded a large home, and MIFA acquired a four-plex apartment building. The City pays the operating expenses. In these sixteen properties, families in crisis are given a temporary home for about two months, while staff and sponsors help them work toward a life of independence. Unmarked homes in neighborhoods scattered throughout the city provide dignity as well as shelter during this difficult time. Families must have a sponsoring congregation or social service agency and are accepted on the basis of some expectation of change. Director Marianne Johnson says, “We try not to let a catastrophic event result in chronic homelessness. We hold their hands out of the water until they began to be able to tread.” This program is a good example of the way MIFA functions. Unused resources are creatively combined with the forces of the religious community or other agencies to meet human needs. Accountability has been an essential ingredient of MIFA's growth and maturation. Educated early by the need to manage federal grants successfully, MIFA was well grounded in good methods of management. Key to the next step, “step of the art technology,” is Margaret Ryan. She began her career as a volunteer with Home Delivered Meals in 1977. In addition to her involvement in housing counseling, she supervised the VISTA program, worked in Project Hope for the frail elderly, and in the Senior Employment program which evolved into MIFA's Job Bank. In these varied experiences she learned, she says, “how to get a program up and going.” Ryan's next MIFA task was to work with administration and resources development. She became the second Associate Executive Director in 1981 with responsibilities in those areas. Her role has been to professionalize MIFA's financial affairs, making sure that resources are used most efficiently to help the needy, with the least possible administrative overhead. This accountability stands up to an annual audit to which there has never been an audit exception. Ryan and her staff recognize that what they do is essential to the functioning of MIFA even though it is behind the scenes and relatively unknown. She says, “Although we who deal with administration do not have direct contact with people in need, nor get the immediate feedback of helping personally, we know that because we are able to keep books and records properly, and can follow mandates of donors and funding sources, which are sometimes complicated, we provide credibility so MIFA can function for the welfare of the community.” She feels that MIFA has arrived at a good balance between structure in administrative procedures and freedom in program areas. Gid Smith puts it another way: “If we err, it is on the side of strictness on the business side, and kindness on the program side. We have a strongly centralized business side, a highly personal service side, and we maintain high accountability.” Next: MIFA People