Friends in need: CCAP is a vital lifeline for struggling Rhode Islanders
“Last year CCAP reached 40,000 people; it has a $43-million annual budget, employs more than 350 people and offers just shy of 100 programs. They range from a food bank and furniture donation program to Head Start and high school equivalency degree classes, plus a heavy dose of health and dental care, education and job training, behavioral health services and family support.
‘Poverty is not a lifestyle of choice,’ said McGunagle, who was promoted to CEO in 1985, just six years after joining CCAP. She said no one coming through the agency’s doors over the 43 years she has been there ever said: ‘I hope to live in poverty.'”