New LEO boss: Finding a job is the path out of poverty

LYNN – Lynn Economic Opportunity’s new director wants to help 4,000 families and 1,000 individuals the agency serves obtain the education and job skills they need to obtain jobs and start careers.”In order to move out of poverty, you have to have a job,” said Birgitta S. Damon.The former state welfare deputy commissioner said LEO takes a “two-generation approach” to helping people: The agency assists adults in stabilizing their lives by obtaining fuel assistance and acquiring skills, and it provides early childhood care for their children.LEO spends $11 million in federal money annually to provide fuel assistance, energy conservation aid and to operate four child care programs across the city where workers focus on preparing children for school and addressing their medical needs.The agency is a byproduct of the “war on poverty” declared by federal officials 50 years ago. Former Director John Mogielnicki retired last year and Damon, a 47-year-old Marblehead resident, left her job as state Department of Transitional Assistance deputy commissioner to succeed Mogielnicki.”I was looking for my next challenge. I love getting back into the community,” she said.Damon said President Obama’s plan to place added federal attention on child care programs underscores LEO’s need to expand its preschool facilities. She said the agency’s program for 3- and 4-year-olds has a 600-family waiting list with the names of 800 children on LEO’s early childhood care waiting list.LEO serves residents in communities ranging from Lynnfield to Saugus, and the agency recently completed a survey to determine LEO clients’ needs and challenges. Damon said additional education and increased job skills are big challenges facing people served by the agency along with limited English-speaking ability and the ability to get to a job.”One of the largest barriers is transportation,” Damon said.She wants to work with other local social service agencies to find ways to help area residents. Project Cope Executive Director Mark Kennard said LEO has played a lead role locally among human services groups in providing Head Start preschool education and fuel assistance.”We’ve had a long, strong relationship with them. They are vital in terms of anti-poverty, Head Start and fuel assistance,” Kennard said.The Broad Street agency received 4,000 applications last year with assistance ranging from $270 to $1,125, depending on the applicant’s income level. Fuel assistance levels for Massachusetts totaled $171 million last year, but federal spending cuts pushed down initial expectations of receiving $141 million in aid this year to $134 million, LEO fuel aid administrator Darlene Gallant said in an interview.Gallant said the average LEO applicant spends $2,400 to heat their home. With the maximum assistance level topping $1,200, including supplemental aid money, applicants have to conserve oil to make their heating budget last through a winter.Gallant said last year’s fuel assistance funding levels also provided enough money to help some applicants pay electric bills.Damon said human service agency partnerships also help organizations bounce back from federal spending cuts. She said LEO must also assess its Broad Street building’s condition and determine needed repairs.