'This impact is going to be big': SW Community Action Agency fears potential funding cuts

The Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency (SMCAA), which offers a number of programs for things like food insecurity and homelessness, has been serving Van Buren, Berrien, and Cass counties for more than 40 years.

Their main mission: offering a hand up to community members in need.

“Some of them are one tragedy away from an emergency, and that's what we're here for,” Kim Smith-Oldham, executive director of SMCAA, said.

In 2024 alone, Smith-Oldham says SMCAA distributed nearly 49,000 USDA food boxes, supported more than 250 homes with rent payments, and sheltered 45 families experiencing homelessness.

“We do a lot,” Smith-Oldham said. “SMCA programs are often the lifeline that are required to keep a family from going hungry or losing their home.”

However, every one of those programs rely on federal funding, which could now be at risk.

One of Smith-Oldham’s biggest concerns is the Community Services Block Grant’s (CSBG) potential elimination.

The CSBG is a federal program that provides funding aimed at reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and it is also a core funder of CAAs.

CSBG funding essentially supplements all of the agency’s programs, according to Smith-Oldham, and if cut, could lead to difficult decisions surrounding services.

“That is the backbone of our agency and that is in jeopardy of being cut,” Smith-Oldham said. “So this impact is going to be big.”

As people face rising costs and shrinking resources, Smith-Oldham says the need behind the SMCAA has never been greater.

“It's very important that we rally and do what we can to be able to keep these services and programs in place,” Smith-Oldham said.