Vision & Mission At Butte County CAA we provide hope to people struggling with poverty to become more self-sustaining by meeting tangible needs in the areas of energy savings, affordable food, and housing. At Butte County CAA our mission is to serve as a catalyst to reduce poverty and its symptoms through: Providing quality services Developing resources Collaborating with others Advocating on behalf of the economically & socially disadvantaged Empowering individuals Improving the conditions in which people live, learn and work Vision We envision communities whose members feel secure and are self-sufficient. We have a federal mandate to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty by whatever means necessary in our community. Currently we do this by: Helping people on fixed incomes weatherize their homes so they can spend less on PG&E Managing the North State Food Bank, providing lower cost food options for fixed income families. Providing transitional housing to those who might otherwise end up homeless Providing affordable housing options to low income families Butte County is rich in natural beauty, recreation, education and small industry, but is economically depressed. The poverty rate in Butte County from 2009-2013 was 20.4% with a much higher rate in Oroville (38.6%) than Chico (25.9%) or Paradise (15.4%). While incomes have improved for many, a large and growing percentage of the population has not experienced income gains sufficient to escape poverty. Unemployment is typically higher than the State average, which was 15.9% in the same time period. Since 1967, Butte County CAA has been serving the needs of the region in alignment with the charter of the National Community Action Agencies overarching goal. The stated goal of all Community Action Agencies in the United States is defined as follows: To alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty by whatever means necessary in your community. Through the years Butte County CAA has provided a number of pro