In 1967, three years after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act, the agency now known as Community Service Programs of West Alabama (CSP), Inc., opened its doors to provide assistance to low-income families and individuals as well as those with special needs in the Tuscaloosa area. CSP, which operates as a private, non-profit, community action agency, is an initiative of Johnson’s Great Society Campaign and War on Poverty that began, in Johnson’s words, with hopes to “eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty by opening to everyone the opportunity for education and training, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity.”

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Jerry Griffin, a well-known social work professor at the University of Alabama, became the first executive director of Community Service Programs of West Alabama. His passion and resilience proved to be the motivating force behind the agency’s early goal of community organization. With the motto: “A hand up, not just a hand out” and an emphasis on training, CSP focused on getting people to collaborate  for the betterment of their community, while equipping them with basic skills needed to promote independence. 

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Today, CSP of West Alabama serves those in need throughout an Ten-county service area, encompassing Bibb, Choctaw, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Sumter and Tuscaloosa. As a community action agency, the governance body is tripartite, composed of one-third elected officials or their representatives, one-third business/civic organizations and one-third low income individuals/organizations.   The board is currently chaired by Freddie Washington.

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Under the direction of the present Executive Director, Cynthia W. Burton, the agency continues in carrying out its motto, “Committed to Building Stronger Families and Communities,” which is the foundation on which the agency provides services through innovative programs in supportive services, education and housing.