Public Action at St. Margaret's to Ensure All Children in Cortland County Have Health Insurance
Our Story
Two women of faith, Jo Caratelli and Mary Lee Martens, became deeply troubled by the challenges facing Cortland families. They saw the disturbing effects of poverty, drug addiction, crime, blighted housing and domestic violence. After some intensive study and reflection, they were inspired to reach out to their friends in the faith community and to explore ways of working together to address those concerns. Two years ago, together with local congregations and a social service agency, Jo and Mary Lee helped to found the Moving in Congregations Acting in Hope. MICAH is an affiliate of the PICO National Network, which represents one million families nationwide.
Vision and Values
MICAH believes in the dignity of people. We want to establish a vital community organization that will give poor and working families the ability to improve the quality of their lives. MICAH is doing this by giving families the tools to become effective and engaged citizens, and by working with those families to address their concerns in the public arena.
In a practical way, MICAH accomplishes its mission using by the PICO Model of Community Organizing. It trains citizens to strengthen relationships with family and friends by listening to their concerns, to investigate the underlying causes of those concerns, and to mobilize community resources to resolve them.
Accomplishments
M.I.C.A.H. has gained the support of many local institutions, sent leaders to PICO National Leadership Training, provided leadership training locally to others in this community, created a Sponsoring Committee that includes key faith leaders, compiled a comprehensive community profile, and worked with Congress to expand health coverage to all children across the country.
Last year, a team of 20 M.I.C.A.H. leaders completed its first Listening Campaign. Talking one-to-one to some 250 families, children’s health care emerged as the top priority. M.I.C.A.H. leaders then conducted a series of research action meetings with public officials and community leaders to understand the reasons that so many children remain uninsured. A public action was held in October, 2007 and thus began a partnership with the County Administrator, County Health Department and the Department of Social Services. A plan of action was established and meetings have been held with potential partners in the community to work together towards obtaining health insurance for all the children in the county by 2010.
Partners: Catholic Charities of Cortland, Christ Presbyterian Church, Church at Freetown, Harmony United Methodist Church, God’s Lighthouse of Praise,St. Anthony’s Church, St. Margaret‘s Church, Scott United Methodist Church, SUNY Cortland, O’Heron Newman Chapel, and Virgil United Methodist Church.
Financial supporters: Alliance Bank of Cortland, Christ Presbyterian Church, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Church at Freetown, Cortland Breakfast Rotary, Dominican Sisters of Springfield (Illinois), God’s Lighthouse of Praise, HSBC, Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, Presbyterian Church (USA), St. Margaret’s Church, SUNY Cortland, O’Heron Newman Chapel, and numerous individual donors.
Contact information: MICAH (formerly Cortland Interfaith Sponsoring Committee), c/o St. Margaret’s Church, 14 Copeland Avenue, Homer, New York 13077, 607-423-3446
