For more information regarding Retired Senior Volunteer Program call: (989) 358-4650 or email: RSVP@nemcsa.org
Community Action started in 1961 when President John F. Kennedy created a new program to help communities work together to solve problems, especially juvenile crime. He encouraged local leaders, neighbors, and service providers to come together and help young people. Because this idea worked well, people began to expand it, bringing everyone from different parts of the community to help each other and lift people out of poverty. The main idea was for the whole community to work together to improve things for those struggling.
When President Lyndon B. Johnson took office in 1963, he built on Kennedy’s ideas. In 1964, during his State of the Union speech, Johnson announced a "War on Poverty." He said, “Let us carry forward the plans and programs of John F. Kennedy…not because of our sorrow…but because they are right…This administration today, here and now, declares an unconditional War on Poverty in America.”
As part of this effort, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was created. This law aimed to end poverty by providing education, training, and job opportunities for everyone in the United States. Many programs that came from this act, including Community Action Agencies like Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency, Inc. (NEMCSA), still work to help communities today.