LIBERTY — CACHE is not gone.

“Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated,” chuckles Walter Stein, executive director of the Community Action Commission to Help the Economy, otherwise known as CACHE.

The Liberty nonprofit is recovering from hard times, however.

“We have just come through 2016, which was probably the worst year we ever had,” Stein admits. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong.”

Funding and programs were cut, while personnel came and went.

“We went through a period last year where we had an unbelievable time meeting our payroll,” he says.

A major issue was the loss of over $80,000 of funding in a not-quite-$700,000 budget.

“One of our biggest funders is the Department of State, and our reporting was not satisfactory,” Stein explains, referring to the status reports required to obtain funding. “We do very good work, but we don't tell our story right.

“... I think we allowed the circumstances around us to start controlling us,” he admits. “I think we became a little bit defeatist for a while.”

But that same Department of State told Stein they wouldn't let CACHE fail.

“I really have to put that as a major turning point,” he acknowledges, adding that CACHE's sister agency in Middletown, RECAP, is helping do the necessary fiscal bookkeeping.

Now, he says, “we're rebuilding. The last couple of months, it feels like we're getting our direction back, and I cannot thank God enough for that.”

Nine staff serve around 500 folks a year inside CACHE's offices, which line a twisting corridor spanning several buildings.

This is a come-as-you-are place, where those in need can find shelter, food, advice, Internet service, employment opportunities, bus tickets, family advocacy, or just a cup of coffee and good conversation.

“You don't need an invitation,” Stein swears. “Just come in!”

That's his all-encompassing goal these days, having heard one too many times the myth that CACHE is closed.

“No, we're not!” affirms Xania McFarland, CACHE's community development director.

She knows CACHE's reputation hasn't sparkled recently, but she's determined to change that, constantly seeking ways to invest in the poorest, hardest-hit areas of the community.

Most often, that's with her time and expertise, always available to walk-ins.

“People come in and feel kicked down, exhausted,” she explains. “... You can give them simple words to uplift their spirits and let them know what's going on. And there is somewhere you can guide them to get some sort of assistance.”

That kind of help empowers people, McFarland notes, and they then spread that around their friends and families.

“What we can do is give you options,” she explains. “There is a way out [of any problem] - just lean on us and let us help you!

“And that,” she points out, “is how you get the community together.”

Well, that and the summer BBQ at Hanofee Park she's planning (date to be determined).

Stein hopes the whole community turns out - and to a town hall-style forum he dreams of mounting later this year.

“We'll devote that whole day to us shutting up and listening,” he explains. “We need to find out what they need, what we are doing right, and what we are doing wrong. We want to look at how we can build this agency back up again.”

The wind is already back in CACHE's sails because of that kind of energy, McFarland insists.

“You can't be comfortable anymore,” she determinedly states. “Every day I come in here, I know I'm trying to correct what went wrong. ... I'm glad I am a part of an organization that's trying to bring a better tomorrow.”