Shortly after passage of the War on Poverty legislation in 1965, Mesa Community Action Network, Inc. began its services to Mesa's poor families and individuals as Adelante con Mesa. Adelante pioneered many successful programs in the community, for example, the Meals on Wheels effort now at Mesa Senior Services, with a $100 donation. Many long time anti poverty advocates helped guide the early days of Adelante con Mesa: three come to mind, Connie Brice, Ruben Martinez and Odessa Williams. Of course, there were many others, too.
Adelante became the provider of the community's community action programs, and the agency continues to be the essential provider, collaborator and partner in working to give the community's poorest an honest opportunity to change their economic and social lives.
Nearly from the very beginning, MesaCAN's Deputy Director and Director of the East Valley Men's Center, Margie Frost, has been a part of this effort. Much of the agency's philosophy results from Margie's extensive record of service and experience with homeless people and those needing help: everything from food and clothing to homelessness prevention through rent, mortgage and utility assistance.
In 1986, Adelante became an incorporated Arizona nonprofit and 501(c)(3) named Mesa Human Resources, Inc. At that time, MHR contracted with Maricopa County for community action programs and made its first application, successfully, to become a Mesa United Way partner agency in 1986.
Throughout all of the years, the agency developed a reputation as a "can do" organization, and there are many incredible stories about extraordinary services. Mesa's Mayor's, over the years, have come to rely on the agency for meeting unusual or critical needs regardless of how challenging. MesaCAN has always been proud of this confidence.
In 1991, MHR became Mesa Community Action Network, Inc., known by many as MesaCAN. Of course, part of the name intended to capture that spirit of a resourceful and responsive organization. In 1996, the City of Mesa became the designated community action agency, and MesaCAN continued to contract all of these services to the City rather than the County.
In 1998, MesaCAN took its first significant program expansion with the opening of the East Valley Men's Center. The EVMC resulted from a 1995 citizen's Taskforce on Homelessness, chaired by Margie Frost. The Taskforce made two important recommendations to Mesa's elected leadership: (1) that the City adopt a service philosophy coined by the Taskforce as "compassionate accountability and (2) that if the community expected homeless men to get off the streets, there should be a facility and program providing that opportunity. It took two years to find a site and another two years to complete the renovations. Nonetheless, the EVMC opened on December 17, 1998 with very little actually completed in the building, and for nearly two months until the bathroom/shower area was done, EVMC residents were transported to the Broadway Recreation Center every night for showers. With the opening of the EVMC, MesaCAN doubled its size.
Actually prior to the opening of the EVMC, MesaCAN began a small neighborhood outreach and development service area. This program has evolved into MesaCAN's Community Technical Assistance Center (CTAC), and CTAC houses MesaCAN's Assets for Arizona Institute, Arizona's cutting edge provider of technical assistance to other organization's interested in starting Individual Development Account (IDA) programs. Of course, the Institute operates MesaCAN's own IDA initiative. CTAC also began free income tax preparation services in 2000 for tax year 1999.
In 2001, MesaCAN moved its headquarters to 635 East Broadway Road. Shortly thereafter MesaCAN partnered with an energetic group of volunteers with a funny name, the Sprinzl/Murphy Community Outreach Volunteers, to add a food pantry and clothing bank to the agency's array of services. Ever since, this group of volunteers has distributed over 250,000 pounds of food annually to Mesa families and individuals.
In 2002, MesaCAN became a partner agency with Valley of the Sun United Way and is proud that it receives funding from both the Mesa and Valley of the Sun United Ways.
MesaCAN is currently working on opening its third location: the Comprehensive Community Services Center located at 438 South Drew. This site will house an expanded food pantry, thrift store, clothing bank, community garden and educational classes like ESL and computer technology.
MesaCAN also has added home budgeting/financial management, ESL and technology training at its Olive and Broadway location. Even in challenging economic times, the agency continues to strive to expand and improve its services. Of course, MesaCAN continues to be the largest provider of all kinds of critical assistance service preventing homelessness among, primarily, working families with children.
Currently, MesaCAN continues to strive to be a comprehensive resource and advocacy nonprofit recently co hosting a conference attended by over 200 people: New Strategies in Wealth Creation, Asset Building, Housing and Community Development: Regional Equity Conference. MesaCAN is also working to bring a credit union as a partner in service to the community and is hopeful that by the end of 2005, this will become a reality.
MesaCAN is proud of its rich heritage of service to the community and intends to continue to offer hope and help to some of the city's and region's working poor and "helping people to take charge of their lives," MesaCAN's mission.
