Central Susquehanna Opportunities
What happens when one organization dares to break silos, embrace long-term partnerships, and tackle deep-rooted challenges like housing insecurity and generational poverty head-on?
In this episode of the Thinking CAAP podcast, Beck Moore and Amanda Hoprich sit down with Megan Bair, Executive Director of Central Susquehanna Opportunities (CSO), to explore the agency’s evolving role in addressing urgent community needs across Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland counties.
From self-sufficiency coaching and case management to cross-sector housing collaborations, Megan shares how CSO is building impact that lasts—and what it takes to fund and sustain it.
You’ll hear how CSO’s wraparound approach transforms lives by aligning services with the social determinants of health, why nonprofit funding models must adapt to support long-term outcomes, and how breaking down organizational territorialism is fueling real progress across the region.
If you’re a nonprofit leader or advocate, this conversation offers insight, inspiration, and a real-world roadmap for change.
Thinking CAAP Talking Points
[0:00] Welcome Back and Introduction
Beck Moore welcomes the audience back, along with cohost Amanda Hoprich.
He introduces Megan Bair as the executive director for Central Susquehanna Opportunities Council.
[0:40] Key Program Overview
Megan discusses the key program offered by CSO, focusing on case management and self-sufficiency coaching.
These programs support families in working towards self-sufficiency.
[5:02] Challenges and Funding
The discussion touches on the challenges of securing funding for case management.
They highlight the importance of tracking outcomes, emphasizing the unique long-term outcomes of Community Action.
[10:45] Addressing Housing Crisis
Megan emphasizes the critical need for addressing the housing crisis in the counties served by CSO.
She highlights the agency's active involvement in working with community partners to address the crisis holistically.
[13:43] Future Vision and Evolution
Megan talks about the agency's future focus on community-level impact, particularly in areas such as housing and healthcare integration.
She emphasizes the continued evolution towards a holistic approach to services.
[14:53] Shoutout to Karin and Social Determinants of Health
A shoutout is given to Karin for her amazing work on the social determinants of health, in addition to her new book.
The conversation highlights the impact of social determinants of health and the importance of finding Karin on LinkedIn.
[16:16] The Power of People in Community Action
Megan shares that what keeps her going in her work at CSO is the people, both the ones they serve and the employees at CSO.
She emphasizes the impact of seeing families succeed and how CSO plays a part in changing the future trajectory of those families.
[17:49] Breaking Down Silos in Community Action
Megan discusses the myth they are busting about Community Action being a silo.
She highlights the importance of building partnerships and collaboration, breaking down territorialism, and working together to serve families.
[18:49] Learning More About CSO
Beck encourages listeners to visit the website to learn more about their programs and how to take action to help Megan and the team.
The conversation ends with appreciation for Megan's work and a shoutout to CSO's beautiful new logos.
Transcript of Episode 15
[00:00]
Hello and welcome to the Thinking CAAP. What's up everybody? So glad to be back after a short hiatus.
So happy to have you back. I've missed you.
[00:09]
I know that you've had some changes in your career since the last time you were our co-host, but I'm happy you're back.
We're going to talk about that on a future episode.
We're here today to have a special guest from one of our agencies. Megan, thank you for joining us.
[00:23]
Thank you.
Megan is the executive director for Central Susquehanna Opportunities Council.
We're excited to have you and talk about some of your programs.
So Megan, let's jump into it. I actually had the privilege of visiting CSO—one of your offices—and got to see one of your programs.
[00:40]
But what would you say is your key program that your agency offers and if you can give us a high level overview?
That's a tough question. I think all of our programs are key and they're so closely intertwined.
But if I had to choose one, I would choose our case management programs and our self-sufficiency coaching because that's where we get to really work intensively with families that are working towards self-sufficiency and wrapping around all those other services we offer like housing support and food to really support families as they're working towards increasing their self-sufficiency.
Yeah, absolutely.
[01:16]
Case management is the conduit for family success—well, individual and family successes in so many ways.
So can we dig into that just a little bit though?
Because I know that we've used this phrase in a couple previous episodes where we talked with Denise Harlow, our National Community Action Partnership CEO, and with Erin Lukoss from Bucks County Opportunity Council.
And I think the self-sufficiency model is a beautiful one within Community Action to really help folks.
[01:40]
So can you talk a little bit about what that looks like and some of that kind of intensive coaching that happens within that program just to share it with our listeners a little bit more?
Because when we hear the term self-sufficiency, I think people have this maybe perception—and maybe that perception is right or wrong—but just want to kind of give a little bit more context for people that maybe aren't familiar with this.
Sure.
Case management is just such a powerful process because it really does wrap around family.
So when someone contacts CSO, a lot of times they just need help with that utility bill.
[02:13]
They just need access to food.
You know, they just might need a one-off service.
And we're happy to provide that.
But we know that families often have multiple needs and multiple goals.
And so case management is the process in which one of our staff works side by side with a family to address all of their needs, establish goals, and help them move towards gaining additional financial independence.
[02:46]
It's not a six-month process. You're not going to become self-sufficient in a year.
Even so, we have a great story of someone who we've been working with for over three years who just started six months ago.
She was ready to start volunteering at the CSO offices. So she would come in a few days a week.
[03:07]
While she was doing that, we're still supporting her with her housing and budgeting, making sure she has clothing and hygiene products and food, and really working with her just to build her confidence and her independence.
And so after volunteering here for a few months, she actually just about a month ago started a new part-time job, independent, outside of CSO.
But we're not done with her yet because she still needs our support.
We're working with her on managing her household budget as she has gained income.
We're starting to see her having to make decisions between choosing to work or lose benefits.
[03:45]
And so really case management is just that one-on-one support for families and whatever they need.
And I think oftentimes in Community Action, case management is really unique because we take a holistic approach that looks at the full scope of the social determinants of health.
So if a family has children, if there are spouses or significant others in the family, we're serving that whole household, even if it's just mom that is coming in initially for service.
So it's really that holistic support of helping families meet the goals that they think are most important for them as they work towards self-sufficiency.
Yeah, absolutely.
[04:23]
Yes. I think the framework of this is really, I think, what is so fantastic about Community Action because—and we talk about this in our video that we talk about who we are—when a family member, when an individual, when a client, however you want to distinguish that person, walks through the door, it's not just about that one need, right?
There's other underlying challenges.
And on a future episode, I know we're going to explore the benefits cliff and talk a little bit more about what that really looks like.
Because I think again, this preconceived notion about, you know, "Oh, if you just get a job, it's simple, right? You're going to pull yourself out of poverty."
But we know and we say this all the time in Community Action: you can't budget yourself out of poverty.
[05:02]
Right. It's far more complex.
And so I love and appreciate that example very much.
And I think one of the things that is amazing about long-term case management—and you know, as part of this conversation—is also those goals and needs change.
You know, just like you said, now that client is earning income and now it's a whole different set of barriers and challenges to overcome, and that's with ever-changing circumstances in an entire family.
[05:31]
So it is an ever-growing process. It's not short. It's not quick and sweet.
It is extremely rewarding.
But it is a journey.
Absolutely.
[05:42]
Well, and we all have evolving circumstances, right?
You have an injury, your child is suddenly diagnosed with insert thing here, or something happens within your family dynamic.
Or there's suddenly a storm and you lose your heating system in your house or your electricity goes out.
There are all of these things that could potentially impact a family.
And I think the reality is that not all of us are surrounded by people, resources, or have the resources to try to navigate those challenges.
[06:33]
And so that's when—insert CSO Susquehanna Opportunities Council—steps in to help through that case management support, to ensure that people have someone to call and try to work those things out.
So if we think a little bit then about the day to day, this idea of case management is not something that is often easily funded.
And so can you talk to us a little bit about just emerging trends within the funding component of your organization, and what's really been important to ensuring that you are securing additional funding to support the organization?
Because I think that's an important part of this.
[07:12]
Yeah, I mean that really is the challenge of Community Action right now—staying relevant in these changing times, especially in the post-COVID funding era.
Again, the thing that sets us apart with that case management sets us apart with funders too.
Because there are multiple agencies in our counties that offer food assistance or hygiene products.
[07:33]
But with our case management—having that holistic wraparound—it makes us more marketable from a funding perspective too.
We've started to reach out more to our local giving foundations.
We work very closely with United Ways.
We've started to partner with some healthcare organizations that have an interest in helping their patients access CSO’s comprehensive services.
Because they understand that patients won't be healthy if they're not living in safe housing or if they don't have access to healthy foods.
[07:55]
So we've really been focusing on what makes us unique with that self-sufficiency case management.
Because it really is what sets us apart from a lot of other local partners.
[08:13]
Absolutely appreciate that.
If I can ask—one of the other challenges we know along the same lines—finding funding is a challenge.
One of the other challenges with case management around self-sufficiency is tracking outcomes.
All the outcomes are variable.
How is CSO tackling that?
[08:36]
So we set goals for each of our families that we're working with, and then we do track those goals.
We track shorter-term goals.
No, we don't have a family whose goal is to be "self-sufficient." That's not the way it works in case management.
So we look—if they’re in housing—we look at how long are they able to maintain that housing, or even just obtaining housing is the first goal.
[09:04]
And so we track their goals in smaller steps as they work towards self-sufficiency.
Once we get the housing worked out, then we might move on to employment.
And the first goal might be part-time employment, and then employment at a family-sustaining wage—just incrementally helping families increase their circumstances.
[09:30]
Well, and I think from a funding perspective—having been a part of nonprofit work for the last 20+ years—that is an important thing for funders to think about, that I just want to lift up:
There are long-term outcomes of Community Action.
And that is not always so easy for us to point to and say, “Yes, we can absolutely say that within this many months this is going to happen for this person.”
And so when we work in this space, that sort of equitable funding opportunity for our agencies to be effective can sometimes be difficult to point to.
Yes, here's what we can say definitively: everyone will achieve ___.
[10:09]
And so for us, we know that across the state of Pennsylvania—42 agencies officially now—that serve every single county, that we've touched collectively over 500,000 people.
But what each one of those 500,000-some-odd people have needed has varied pretty dramatically from person to person.
And the timeframe in which our organizations have worked with those individuals could be six months, it could be three years, it could be four years.
And all different outcomes based on the circumstances and the deep community need.
[10:45]
Absolutely.
So let's kind of shift gears a little bit, Megan, and talk a little bit more about the future.
What are some of the emerging trends or issues in the counties that you serve for your agency that you're preparing to address through either new programming, changes in programming, or services?
[11:09]
So right now, housing is the most critical need across all three of our counties.
We do have housing services.
We provide short-term rental assistance, homelessness prevention.
We have a street outreach program that works directly with families that are experiencing homelessness wherever they’re at.
[11:29]
But the crisis is huge and it's well beyond the scope of those emergency services.
So CSO has really been active in some work locally to address the housing crisis from all levels.
Not just looking at those emergency services, but also looking at development of additional units.
And just really working with a lot of community partners to address the housing crisis holistically.
[11:51]
We know that it’s going to take years to achieve the goals we need to, but we have a great group of partners that are working together.
So we’re staying deeply connected to that group of partners working on housing—looking at how CSO can be a part of that work.
We're actively seeking housing grants to expand our services in that area as well.
[12:26]
That’s great.
We've talked about this quite a bit within our agency and our network and our discussions.
We’ve heard a number of folks say this: that the housing crisis is not going to just be solved by nonprofits and community-based organizations alone.
It can’t be solved by just healthcare alone.
It can’t be solved by government alone.
It can’t be solved by for-profit entities alone.
It's got to be a multi-layered, collaborative approach within all of those groups in order to really be effective.
[12:57]
So we see that trending across the state for sure.
Absolutely.
And we know the housing crisis is unique to communities.
What works in the counties served by CSO may not work in other parts of Pennsylvania—and we know in other parts of the country.
[13:43]
So I think we have a couple more questions for you, Megan, and then I think we're going to start to wrap up.
We know our listeners like succinct, quick episodes. That’s what we’re trying to stick to.
We’re not always the best at it. I can be a little long-winded—surprise, surprise.
But we do want to get to a couple other things that are important.
[13:57]
As you review your community needs assessments, you continue to think about the emerging opportunities from a fundraising perspective and where you really see being effective in solutions within your community—
What are some of the things that you see your agency evolving to do or shift to within the next three to five years?
Anything in particular that you, as a leader, are starting to think about or envision out?
You have your strategic plan, I know, but is there anything in particular that you really see from a programmatic perspective that you want to lift up?
[14:20]
Yeah, I mean, there’s a couple of things. That’s a great question.
So first of all, I think the work I just described around housing and working at that community level is going to be so important for CSO and other Community Action Agencies.
Because we are tasked with providing services at the individual level and serving families directly—but also maintaining those close community connections that are going to be so impactful in continuing to help services evolve and to really develop strategies in local communities that are going to address the needs around families in poverty.
[14:53]
So continuing to look at how CSO can be a key player in that and really take the lead in issues like housing and food access and just financial stability in our communities.
And then in terms of actually, you know, direct services to customers—
we have really been working towards that holistic approach.
I see that continuing to evolve, especially as we work more with healthcare providers.
Really tying our services into health-related needs—looking at how our services affect health outcomes—
I think is going to be critical for the future.
[15:37]
Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly.
I just did a presentation about health equity and how much our ZIP code impacts our health versus our genetic code.
And it’s such an important translation—particularly for Community Action.
We’ve talked about our work within a very specific framework for a long time.
And so I know a prior episode—I think it was episode two—Karin Van Zant talked a lot about this and the need for us to continue to think about the framework in which we present our work and the importance of working with healthcare for sure.
[14:53]
And we can give Karin a shout out on her new book.
Yes, absolutely—yes!
The publishing just got dropped, so check her out. Find her on LinkedIn.
She’s a great speaker, does a lot of really amazing work, and is specifically talking about social determinants of health and the impact.
So please, please—yeah, shout out to Karin for sure.
We love a good shameless plug here at CAAP.
[15:37]
So I am curious, Megan—you've had a long career in Community Action and specifically at CSO.
We’re going to be having another episode that we’ll be launching with you and another executive director from STEP, Rachelle Abbott, who will be joining us as well to talk a little bit about some of her agency work and program highlights.
But I’m just curious—when you think about CSO and the work that you’ve done, local impact, really remarkable things that you all have accomplished—
What’s the thing that keeps you going?
[15:57]
Because it’s hard work.
I mean, I say all the time, I feel very blessed to be able to support you all at the association.
I’m thankful to not be doing direct client service work anymore.
I appreciate how hard it is and just what you give up of yourself to continue to do that work.
So what keeps you going?
What’s your secret to just making sure to maintain your sanity and positive attitude?
[16:16]
This one’s easy. What keeps me going is the people.
The people we serve and the people I serve at CSO—our employees.
We’re just incredibly blessed at CSO.
We have a team of really dedicated staff that is mission-aligned, mission-driven.
They show up every day for our customers and to move our mission forward.
[16:35]
But really, when I see the families we served out in the community after the crisis has passed—when they’re housed, when the kids are in school, they have transportation, when we're meeting up at soccer games—that’s what keeps me going.
Because that’s really changing the future trajectory of that family.
And I can see CSO had a tiny part of that.
The families that we work with have to work really hard to move forward.
And so when you see families that have really been successful in that, that’s what keeps us all going.
[17:10]
Yeah. Appreciate that very much. Thank you.
I love that. That’s like the chef’s kiss, Megan.
Yeah, true.
[17:18]
Amanda, I’m sure you have some deep question that you’re probably going to ask us to wrap us up here—which is my favorite question.
Megan, what myths are you busting about Community Action at CSO?
[17:49]
I think the myth that we're trying to bust is that Community Action is a silo.
We’re really working to build partnerships, to build collaboration.
There’s been kind of a history of “We do food—you can’t touch that.”
And so we’re really working to break that down.
Because we know there’s enough families that need food—we could have five agencies touching food, and we’re still not going to meet the need in our communities.
[18:21]
And so we have really, in the last two years, seen the power of local agencies working together.
Breaking down those walls, losing our territorialism, and just working to serve the families.
We’re doing incredible things in this valley because of that mind shift.
[18:32]
Yeah, absolutely. Yep. Love that very much.
Well, thank you so much for taking the time with us today, Megan.
We’re really excited—and we’re excited you actually are going to do this again with us.
Yeah. Thank you.
[18:49]
Want to make sure to just give a shout out:
If you are interested specifically in learning more about CSO, please visit our website—theCAAP (C-A-A-P) - dot - org.
Go to the About Us section, find out about our member agencies.
Megan, make sure you hold me accountable here—
The communities, the counties that you serve in Pennsylvania?
[18:58]
Columbia, Montour—am I forgetting one?
Northumberland.
Northumberland, yep.
Thank you. I knew I had it in here.
[19:12]
So if you live in those areas, you want to learn more—and/or, right, you just want to learn more about what they do—
please visit our website.
You can specifically find out about them and learn about their programs and how to take action to help Megan and the team there.
So thank you, Megan, for joining us.
[19:19]
And see their beautiful new logos.
Absolutely.
Yeah. Thank you for the work you do.
Thank you for taking time. We know you’re incredibly busy.
[19:31]
And thank you to all of our listeners for joining us this beautiful day, wherever you are.
Thank you.
[19:36]
Thank you for being a part of this episode of the Thinking CAAP.
Check the show notes for resources and links to other episodes, and don’t forget to subscribe and follow to be notified when new episodes are released.
If you have any Community Action questions you’d like Beck or one of our local experts to answer in a future episode, please email your questions about Community Action to info@thecaap.org—subject line: Thinking CAAP.