Council of the Southern Mountains

The Council of the Southern Mountains is a community action agency established in 1964 to help low-income individuals and families achieve economic, social and psychological self-sufficiency in southern West Virginia, especially McDowell County. The Council is a 501 c (3) nonprofit corporation governed by a volunteer tripartite Board of Directors. The Board is composed of individual from three areas: 1) low-income and minority, 2) elected officials and 3) community representatives. The agency serves people in the southern part of West Virginia with emphasis on McDowell County, an economically distressed area experiencing high unemployment and social disparities. The Council of the Southern Mountains presently provides services for individuals and families to help them achieve self-sufficiency. The Council also provides programs for unemployed and underemployed individuals, high school drop-outs, unwed parents, parolees and TANF recipients as high need individuals that need CSM assistance in gaining meaningful community services that provide all measures of citizenship and dignity. CSM provides job training and other services for these individuals and strives to keep the agency functioning at a level that will provide meaningful interventions for the people targeted for help. The agency specifically served 3,000 families in the Community Services Block Grant program this past year which provides food pantries, transportation, seasonal food allocations, clothing, infant formula for eligible families, assistance to the elderly, energy assistance and housing referrals.

Emergency Food and Shelter Disaster Support; Emergency Utility Assistance Program; Weatherization Assistance Program