AmeriCorps Initiative
UCP Texas has partnered for several years with the Corporation for National and Community Services Texas State Office and The OneStar Foundation to support projects with AmeriCorps volunteer resources.
The AmeriCorps resources are helping UCP Texas work to improve communities in Texas. Generation of volunteers is one of the most important roles AmeriCorps plays for UCP Texas. AmeriCorps national service participants serve at UCP Texas and with local, partner organizations, expanding their capacity to achieve their mission and building community involvement and support. AmeriCorps members give a year or two of service to their country, and, in return earn money for college. This mutually beneficial relationship is win-win for everyone involved.
Access Housing
AmeriCorps*VISTA members identify and address critical housing issues in the disability community, specifically addressing the needs of those relocated due to the crisis and for those individuals already in the community struggling to find affordable, accessible and integrated housing in six Texas communities. The members also develop opportunities for partnerships with affordable housing developers in the public and private sector to increase the availability of accessible, affordable and integrated housing.
ASSET AmeriCorps
A OneStar Foundation AmeriCorps Planning Grant is providing support for UCP Texas to assist with a planning process to build local communities' capacity to assist people with disabilities. UCP Texas is working with local partner organizations to assess their interest in AmeriCorps member resources to provide educational opportunities in the areas of financial literacy, housing, and assistive technology to support individuals with disabilities' independence in the community. The program will support the independence and freedom of choice of people with disabilities, a primary mission of UCP Texas and will work to provide financial education - a piece of the puzzle in reducing poverty and building economic independence and self-sufficiency. The program will address the necessary steps to develop local capacity to address the financial education, asset development, assistive technology and housing needs of people with disabilities in Texas.