Current Edition, Winter '08

We have recently completed the ‘five-year-dash’ from $4.6M to $18M in service revenues and found ourselves in an exciting new place. Our year-long strategic planning effort kicked off in January thanks to the support of The Retirement Research Foundation; we continue to be profoundly grateful for their compassionate commitment to Able and its mission.

As our nation stands ready to redefine itself and reestablish what it is truly made of, so does National Able Network. This is asking a lot of a strategic plan, but I am optimistic that the learning process that drives it will help us put new clarity to our mission. Able describes itself as an organization committed to helping people ‘get back to work and life.’ This year we will take this a step further and bring into focus a vision that commits to having a significant and lasting impact on the communities and individuals we serve.

These are especially challenging times for our clients and, like all agencies, we find ourselves trying harder to serve those most in need with ever-shrinking program dollars. We are also learning a great deal in the process. Agency leadership is not just about combining a workable mix of programs and dollars, but being absolutely clear about how all of our resources should be making an impact where it is most needed. We believe Able has the necessary ingredients to make an even greater impact in the future. We are, throughout the agency, a team that is united in its passion to help and energized by every individual success that takes a family to self-sufficiency. And that’s a great place to start.

One team that has exemplified this passion and had the results to show for it is our Service Connector staff. This issue is dedicated to each of our Service Connector women and men who touched the lives of Chicago families in public housing. As we conclude our work with the Service Connector program and embark on new opportunities, I would like to thank them for the very excellent work that they have done.