ALBANY, N.Y. -- "You're just trying to do one day at a time," said Albany resident Kathleen Cloutier.

Twenty five years ago, Kathleen Cloutier was a married homeowner in Massachusetts. Next thing she knew, she was a single waitress with a baby to care for.

"They sent me to welfare which was a help," said Cloutier. "That connected me to the head start program."

Which eventually led her to the Albany Community Action Partnership. Like many of their clients, she soon was employed there.

"I'm very comfortable here," Cloutier said.

Today, she is the Partnership's Executive Director and perhaps, more importantly, a homeowner once again. But as we sat on her new stoop, she spoke of the challenges ahead for her organization and for those who are still struggling.

"Fighting poverty isn't a one stop deal," Cloutier said. "It's really is a lifetime change. It's helping people set goals to really change their lives."

A report recently released by the New York State Community Action Association shows that the level of poverty in the state isn't going down. In Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, one in three people struggles with poverty and 40 percent of children in those cities are poor.

"I would assume that we would see in an increase in these numbers," said Denise Harlow, NYSCAA CEO. "They have not raised statistically significant levels over the last few years. But given the economic downturn they can't go anywhere but up, unfortunately."
"Up meaning worse?" our reporter asked her.
"Worse. Correct," she said.

One of the problems, Cloutier says, is that everyone is being pinched these days, making it harder to convince folks to donate and making it tougher to convince legislators to earmark taxpayer money for these programs.

That said, how do we get the numbers in this report to turn around?

Money helps, Cloutier says, but it's not all that's needed.

"It's really about helping your neighbors, your friends, coming in to volunteer. There's lots of ways that you can make a difference that doesn't have to cost you a lot of money," Cloutier said. "We see everyday how it really works."

In her organization. In her life.

For information on how to locate regional assistance and support, call the New York State Community Action Association at (518) 690-0491 or visit www.nyscaaonline.org.