My CCAP Journey

Seventeen years ago, I had graduated with my Master’s Degree in International Studies from the University of Denver and I was searching for a career that would continue to foster my sense of duty around public service and making the world and the United States a better place. A position I applied for was for providing outreach to neighborhoods in Adams County, Colorado through a federal funding source that I was unfamiliar with, the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). I was very fortunate to be hired for the position, and so started my Community Action journey that led me to my Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP) certification in 2019. 

​As I quickly learned about CSBG, its history, purpose, and mission, I was awestruck that I had found what I was looking for, a chance to make a difference and to be a part of America’s Anti-Poverty Network. I attended state, regional and national Community Action Conferences and encountered a network and a collective of individuals that believed what I believed, that we can do better for those experiencing poverty. I learned the Promise of Community Action, that “Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other”, and it resonated with my core being.

As my career in Community Action progressed, I continued to learn more about the history of poverty in America, its causes and conditions, and how we as a country have identified core values around inclusiveness, participation, and building thriving communities for all that embodies the hope of Community Action. This was further amplified when I finally decided to become a Certified Community Action Professional in 2018, a decision that was long-coming, and that ultimately I wished I had made much earlier. Studying to become a CCAP gave me insight into how the federal government had sought to address generational and systematic poverty and a lack of influence and involvement in human and social services programs by the individuals and families that were experiencing its affects. I learned the Community Action Code of Ethics and how we as Community Action professionals have an incredibly high standard of integrity by which we have been granted great trust from the community to operate in the best interests of those experiencing poverty in our communities. 

The CCAP process, my involvement in learning groups to prepare for the examination, the amazing leadership, teaching, and guidance of the CCAP network and professionals that assisted me throughout, and the incredibly important and interesting deep dive into the history of poverty in modern America has fortified my own personal and professional aspirations for American society higher than I ever could have imagined. In many ways, the CCAP process reinforced what I already knew to be true, and in many ways the CCAP provided me with the knowledge, experience and tools to be even more steadfast in my dedication to eradicating poverty in America.  Almost every day I ask myself, “What would a CCAP do?”, and it guides me to continue to ground and center myself in doing good for others through, and with, others.

Josiah Masingale
Executive Director, Colorado Community Action Association
CCAP 2019; NCRT