This week MCMC announced a reduction in the number of affiliate organizations, as well as a reduction in the overall case management staffing levels at those affiliates which will continue to provide services through March. While these messages were difficult to deliver, they were nonetheless necessary in order to ensure that the MCMC project systematically begins to phase out of operation over the next few months. Our caseload, as a result of a great deal of hard work and focus, has been reduced to levels that bring us nearer to our collective goal of completing the recovery effort. We have said many times that working ourselves out of a job is the only way to ensure that the mission of completing the recovery effort is accomplished. We have also said in this work that, from a personal standpoint, the price of success is often very high. It is one thing to say these things, but it is an entirely different thing to actually mean what you say. I am confident that these phrases are not hollow, and I truly believe that giving your best on behalf of others leads to long term rewards that cannot be measured accurately until some time has passed.

I pray that the skills you have learned and improved upon, and the experiences you have had during the course of this project, have prepared you for whatever comes next in your personal and professional endeavors. Some of us will move on from the MCMC project in the coming weeks, and all of us will move on from this work in the not so distant future. It is the reality of the occupation we have chosen. For all of us, I offer this quote: “What we do in life echoes in eternity!” (Maximmus, in the movie Gladiator) While this quote may seem a little strange in this context, I ask you to consider its underlying meaning. What are you doing today that will leave a lasting impression? What are you, your affiliate, your church, your family, doing today that will be remembered by others 100 years from now? In the time we have left on this project, let’s all consider what we might do “while we have breath” (Marsha Meeks-Kelly) to ensure that our work is not in vain and that this project’s impact will be long remembered for its contributions to our neighbors’ well being. Thanks for the opportunity to serve with you in this endeavor. Onward!


Stephen P Carr II, MA, MFT
Program Director
Mississippi Case Management Consortium
www.mc-mc.org