Description
The Regional Economic Community Action Program, or RECAP, is a private, non-profit organization established in 1965 and designated by the Orange County Poverty Alleviation Agency. RECAP has served the most vulnerable people in Orange County for over 50 years. RECAP provides programs and services to help people living in poverty in and around Orange County New York. RECAP works with the most vulnerable in our community, including the elderly, children, veterans, the homeless and hungry, people living with HIV / AIDS, victims of domestic violence, people struggling with substance use disorders, and anyone who trying to make ends meet.
RECAP provides housing, Head Start, energy services, staff development and training, residential and non-residential addiction support services, Fresh Start Café and parole re-entry.
More than half a century later, the company remains committed to eradicating poverty, just like its founders. RECAP has grown to include innovative programs in addiction treatment, vocational training, energy conservation, nutrition, and more.
Mission
RECAP empowers people and communities facing poverty, racism and social injustice through collaboration
with public and private partners to provide high quality health and social services, education, advocacy and hope.
The mission is realized when our neighbors achieve self-sufficiency.
Story
Like many community action agencies, RECAP has its roots in the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. When President Johnson took office in 1963, he declared that all Americans could live in abundance, and he decided to achieve this through reform. In his 1964 State of the Union Address, Johnson declared an unconditional war on America's poverty and called on citizens to build a "Great Society." Organizations were created and they developed a model, a Community Action Program, that could eradicate poverty from scratch. This model gave people the ability to identify issues affecting their own communities and the resources to make changes.
In 1965, the poverty rate peaked at a national peak, and this affected Orange County. A group of local activists decided to put Johnson's words into practice and formed the Regional Economic Community's Action Program.
