Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership

Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership (ENCAP) has been serving Douglas and Sarpy Counties as a 501c3 nonprofit organization since 1965. Our mission is to reduce the power of poverty in Eastern Nebraska through direct service, and results-driven partnerships. In both counties, individuals and families know ENCAP as an agency able to assist them during a crisis, provide support services that will help them prevent future crises, and build the skills, hope, and social capital they need to envision and work toward a bright future. The community, including peer nonprofit agencies, local government entities, and churches know ENCAP as a committed and innovative collaborator, ready to respond when called upon. 

ENCAP serves more than 20,000 individuals each year in the following program areas: 

Financial Hardship Assistance: Offers rent and utility assistance, public benefits application assistance, personalized goal planning, and connections to community resources. All services components are designed to increase social and economic well-being. ENCAP’s program interventions and approach to case management work is based on the National Association of Social Workers Case Management Standards, the Strengths-Based Management model, and the Your Money, Your Goals Financial Empowerment Toolkit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Senior Wellness: Offers evidence-based services to older adults 60+ to maximize their independence, increase physical well-being, and reduce social isolation and the risk of falls. Components include exercise classes; gardening, cooking and nutrition classes; social and educational outings; and the Generation Xchange (GenX) program. GenX, is a partnership with the UCLA Department of Medicine, UNMC Center for Reducing Health Disparities, and Omaha Public Schools (OPS), trains and places older adult mentors in K-3rd grade classrooms where they work with students to improve academic skills (i.e., reading and math) of the students, and health outcomes of the mentors.

Food Support in Douglas County: Monthly delivery of commodity food boxes to seniors 60+ with little to no income (includes 1,000 home deliveries, and 150 onsite pick-up). Since FY20, ENCAP has also been providing door-to-door food delivery services to families working with Douglas County Community Response (DCCR) member agencies.

Bellevue Food Pantry: Provides supplemental food support to households in Sarpy County. Through meal-based distribution, we supply food items along with recipe suggestions so that households can prepare full meals with the items that they receive. We also offer food delivery service for those unable to reach the pantry due to transportation, mobility, or other barriers, as well as connections to emergency rent & utility assistance, case management, and community referrals. Of 10,000 individuals served, 16% were in military households (1 or more active-duty members or veterans present in the household).

Transportation: Provides rides to and from school to OPS students enrolled in ESL/migrant programming or who are experiencing homelessness, to older adults enrolled in ENCAP’s senior wellness programs, and to other peer nonprofits in Douglas County whose clients need transportation to and from programming.