Welcome to Monroe County United Ministries, affectionately known as MCUM. We are a nonprofit agency in Monroe County, IN with the mission to provide high-quality, affordable early learning and promote economic mobility for families. For over 80 years, we have diligently worked to meet the needs of all members of our community. We work primarily with people in or at risk of falling into poverty. When we talk about poverty we are talking about chronic scarcity and the associated stress that comes with it. Poverty is a very personal and individualized experience, but the most common problems that contribute to poverty in Monroe County include: • Low wages • Availability of jobs with adequate pay • Unaffordable healthcare • High cost of living • Generational poverty The mental bandwidth that living in poverty requires creates a cognitive tax – this can lead to impulsive decision making/poor decisions, poor memory as the brain is in a constant fight or flight mode, lack of ability to plan – when bandwidth is low and we are thinking about paying for food and rent, it is almost impossible to think about the future. MCUM is here to help people navigate that – meeting them wherever they are with support for whatever they need – with the goal of empowering them to improve their circumstances and ultimately reach self-sufficiency. Our emphasis is on generational poverty – which is why we have multi-gen, wrap-around programming between our own licensed, high-quality early learning center in addition to our community Self-Sufficiency Center.