By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle
ENID —
A birthday of sorts is coming up in Enid next month, when Community Development Support Association turns 32 years old Jan. 22.
CDSA, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, was formed from a sociology class taught by Gary Thielen at Phillips University in 1979. Current Executive Director Cheri Ezzell said Thielen was talking with students about local groups that plan for social services, and the lack of such groups in Enid. During the discussion, student Jan Webber suggested they create one.
The group determined the first need to focus on was public transportation. Former Mayor Jim Underwood was a member of that initial group, and some members already were working with Enid YWCA to address the need for transportation.
Those individuals planted the seed for the growth of CDSA, according to the organization’s assessment and strategic plan. Webber was named the first executive director in 1980. She was an employee of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, and her salary was supplemented by a small grant from United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma used to complete a community survey. The first office was located at the Youth and Family Services office.
CDSA board members approached the city of Enid about conducting a feasibility study to determine whether the community could support a public transportation system. The city committed $15,000 from its general fund and hired an outside consultant to conduct the study. Enid Public Transportation Authority is a direct result of the CDSA and city working together to meet a community need, Ezzell said.
Today, CDSA is a United Way agency and serves about 7,000 people a year, she said. Housing programs are the biggest area impacting the community, along with Youth Workforce Investment Act training, which trains youths how to work on a job. The agency’s housing counseling program reaches about 1,500 people a year. Included in CDSA’s people programs are homeless services, down payment assistance, homeless assistance and emergency assistance, such as help for people who lose their heat in the winter. CDSA also assists with prescriptions.
“The need fluctuates. Right now it’s high, because poverty is growing across the country. Different programs serve different people,” Ezzell said.
When the weather turns cold, there are a number of requests for heat assistance, she said, because people have gone without gas during the summer months but can no longer survive without it in the winter. There also are people whose bills get out of control after long periods of heat or cold.
“If someone loses their job, their needs change and their lives are at risk,” Ezzell said.
She said CDSA tries to be as individualistic in its approach as possible, although there will be some bureaucracy because of the regulations accompanying its programs. Thielen eventually became director of CDSA, and Ezzell succeeded him in the position in 2001.
During the past 10 years, CDSA has created or been part of the creation of 197 new or redeveloped housing units in Enid. Ezzell is proud of that statistic.
One of the largest areas at CDSA is the early childhood program, which provides support and education to parents of young children, promotes school readiness, seeks to improve the quality of child care and increases public awareness of the importance of early years.
Early childhood is divided into a number of programs, dealing with areas of teaching young children and making parents better teachers during the child’s early development years. The programs include Parents as Teachers, child care training, provider assistance and training, Smart Start Raising a Reader, Smart Start Spirit of Family Awards and programs to strengthen families.
CDSA is accepting end-of-year, tax-deductible donations through Saturday.
“It would be fun to see that original group of people sitting around planning it, and for them to see what it’s become,” she said.
