CAPE is Your Community in Action
Almost 22% of our neighbors in Evansville and Vanderburgh County live in poverty. In 2023, CAPE served 15,576 individuals and families throughout our local community by addressing the causes and conditions of poverty. To learn more, download our 2023 Impact Report.
Housing and Home Ownership
CAPE’s Housing Department has developed various affordable housing units for rental and purchase in recent years. The program also assists customers with home repair, housing counseling, financial literacy, rental assistance, foreclosure prevention, and mortgage assistance.
CAPE serves as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO), providing affordable housing for low to moderate-income families in Vanderburgh, Gibson, and Posey Counties.
Qualified homeowners may be eligible for home rehabilitation assistance.
Assists homeowners in jeopardy of foreclosure, individual counseling, and works with lenders/mortgage companies on a positive outcome for all.
Assisted households with remediating lead-based paint contamination in their homes to reduce the chances of lead-based paint poisoning to children six years of age and younger.
The Weatherization program helps insulate homes to lower heating and cooling bills. Eligibility for the program is based on household income and the condition of a home. Customers must meet the 200% poverty income guidelines. Our agency served 39 households in 2023.
CAPE Energy Assistance Program helps Vanderburgh, Gibson, and Posey County residents pay gas, electric, and fuel bills. All customers must fall within 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. This program is seasonal and runs from October through March. The program also provides Emergency Replace and Repair (ERR) services to help replace or repair furnaces. Customers must qualify for energy assistance to be eligible for the ERR Program. CAPE’s Energy Assistance program served a total of 7,449 unduplicated numbers of individuals and 3,759 unduplicated households in 2023.
CAPE has partnered with the Evansville Water Sewer and Utility (EWSU) Company to provide Water Bill assistance to residents in Vanderburgh County. Customers whose income qualifies can receive assistance up to $250.00 on any past due or disconnected E.W.S.U account. Customers can utilize this assistance once every twelve months. In 2023 CAPE assisted 340 Vanderburgh County residents with water bills.
CAPE provides financial assistance for rent and utility payments for Indiana residents whose income has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Food and Clothing
The Emergency Needs Pantry provides needy families with non-perishable and staple food items. The pantry also provides diapers, wipes, baby formula, and food. Customers in need can visit the Emergency Needs Pantry once every thirty days. With CAPE pantries in Vanderburgh, Gibson, and Posey counties, our agency was able to assist 2,101 customers in 2023.
CAPE received a donation of 16,000 pairs of shoes, sleeping bags, apparel, and other items from Columbia Sportswear. Throughout 2023, CAPE distributed these gifts to people in need through partnerships with 20 area churches, homeless shelters, food pantries, Evansville Rescue Mission, and other local organizations. Resource-challenged individuals and families from the greater Evansville community were invited to participate. All CAPE staff were available on site to assist. Racks of shoes, clothing, and other items were made available. |
Health
CAPE’s Minority Health Initiative focuses on “eliminating health disparities” and enhancing the quality of life through education, advocacy, and quality health care services. The program was founded in 1987 through the local Minority Health Coalition with the assistance of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus. The program provides health education, screenings, and advocacy on various health disparity topics. The funding from the Minority Health Coalition allowed our agency to serve 1209 customers in the 2023.
Seniors
The Foster Grandparent Program is a Federally funded project designed for low-income senior citizens to render supportive services to children of our community in a supervised setting in health, education, and welfare-related agencies. The program emphasizes the relationship that develops between an older volunteer and a young child by stressing a one-to-one interaction between the two whenever possible. Foster Grandparents are extraordinary people with various backgrounds with wisdom, love, comfort, and experience to share with children so much in need of it. The program hosted 16 volunteers in 2023.
Early Childhood Education
CAPE Head Start provides early education and comprehensive support programs for low-income families with children ages 3-5. Services include health, nutrition, mental health, dental and visual screenings, and developmental and language assessments. CAPE also provides support services for children with disabilities and inclusive help for families seeking support. Parent participation in their child’s education is strongly encouraged and nurtured. 368 children and families were served in Head Start
Early Head Start provides educational and support services to families with children from birth to 3 years old. Risk factors that may hinder optimal child and family development are identified early so services can be individualized to meet the family’s needs. Our full-day full-year option provides comprehensive Head Start services for working families that need full-time childcare. In 2023, 134 Early Head Start families were served, along with 13 expecting mothers.
Community Assessment of CAPE Services
92% of Community Partners rank the services CAPE provides as “good” or “excellent.”
100% of Head Start families say they have a “good relationship with my child’s teacher and other staff.”
92% of Community Partners say they are “very likely” to recommend CAPE services.
98% of Head Start families say they are “comfortable with what my child is learning.”
