A question concerning faith-based charities...?

Question

This question will bring some ideas to the fore that most people have not thought about concerning faith-based charities. There are good aspects to this new phenomena and bad ones as well.

Of course there have always been faith-based charities, The Salvation Army being one of the older ones and a good one too, helping many, many unfortunate people.

The Salvation Army helped my family after Hurricane Katrina and I am very grateful...but on to my point...

There are still hundreds of small faith-based organizations on the Mississippi Gulf Coast 2 years after Hurricane Katrina visited us and they have done a tremendous amount to help us...

One of the most popular is the small group who comes and assembles new homes for a person who lost everything. The materials are usually donated and the workers volunteer their time. Commendable BUT most of the volunteers are not carpenters or brick-layers...they are not building homes up to Hurricane code. (continued....)

No hurricane straps on the roof beams, no reinforced walls, you get my drift...also many of the older homes have been damaged by volunteers...irreplacable features removed to the junk pile that could have been salvaged in older historical homes...

My point I think is, these organizations have not had the EXPERIENCE or EXPERTISE that most of the older established secular charitiy organizations have had...and it concerns me...

So, any opinions on this and additional points that anyone cares to make? Go ahead and make them!

Well Primoa, I agree, experience is needed but why hasn't anyone thought of this? These mistakes could cost lives down the road!

Answer 1

when I helped a local group of people apply for the FBCI grant money, it showed me Bush's Care program that failed in TX is still failing as a Federal Office under the Prez and discriminates against their definition of a religion as not fitting their criteria for faith based if not evangelical christian

Answer 2

Firstly: As you have pointed out many of the older (and oldest) charities are 'faith based', such as the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul.
It appears that your area is actually experiencing a lack of suitable expertise and experience. I would guess that either there is a lack of funding or overall experienced people to do the jobs of rebuilding that part of the world. The organizations (I would guess) know that they don't offer the 'best' services but are willing to step in and do as much as they can do in the meantime. These temporary set-ups are surely better than the conditions that people have been forced to endure were these organizations not willing to help in whatever area they could. I should also point out that you assume that all the 'underqualified' organizations are 'faith' based when I'm sure there are others who are 'secular'. I'm not trying to say that it is right that structures are being built that aren't up to code but when there aren't enough qualified people willing or able to help then it really becomes a case of 'all hands on deck' or the job simply doesn't get done.
Probably doesn't answer your question but I hope my point is clear.
I personally would be asking why the government don't offer more relief and funding for the area rather than questioning the motives (or abilities) of volunteers who feel they can help in some way.

Answer 3

When the Earthquake hit Los Angeles in the 1990s I watch all the rubble just sit there near private homes, including brick fences canted, tilted, falling apart that could have falled on anyone walking near it.

The homeowners refused to do anything until the Government did something and in some cases that took a whole year or more!

So, do let people living in gynmasiums on cots for a whole year. Will their employers welcome them back after they come home 14 months later from a Texas shelter.

Do you just let it sit there and rot because the powers that be take forever and a day to do something.

I knew a family with a $200,000 home in which the combined family income was over $150,000 a year and they had a fallen chimney and didn't have to money to fix it themselves so it sat there until FEMA go around to them.

Maybe you can afford to pay a carpenter $20 an hour (and, by the way, where was the chairity of the Construction Unions in all of this) or a plumber $50 an hour. Many people can't, so they'll just let it sit there.

Answer 4

You have hit the nail on the head with your questions of "faith based" charities. Bush's plan has had many organizations rush to start charities to get government grants. However, the quality of the charity is never really questioned when it is "faith based." A secular charity has standards they must live up to. They provided training for their volunteers, and trained, well qualified supervision of projects.

Many of the *newer* faith based organization hang a notice in the church asking for help. They don't provided training, and the supervision may not be qualified for the job. While very well meaning, they are not in a position to do the most good. A local church wanted to open a soup kitchen here, but it had to be shut down when the most basic of health standards were not being met. Another church opened a low-income day care center, but the staff wasn't trained, and there were too few adults for so many children.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has been marginalized and is close to bankruptcy.

Answer 5

I am concerned about the government sponsorship of their agenda's.

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"

Together with the Free Exercise Clause, ("or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"), these two clauses make up what are commonly known as the religion clauses and define our Federal policies towards separation of church and state.

The Supreme Court decided Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist and Sloan v. Lemon in 1973. In both cases, states—New York and Pennsylvania—had enacted laws whereby public tax revenues would be paid to low-income parents so as to permit them to send students to private schools. It was held that in both cases, the state unconstitutionally provided aid to religious organizations. The ruling was partially reversed in Mueller v. Allen (1983). There, the Court upheld a Minnesota statute permitting the use of tax revenues to reimburse parents of students. The Court noted that the Minnesota statute granted such aid to parents of all students, whether they attended public or private schools.

While the Court has prevented states from financially aiding parochial schools, it has not stopped them from aiding religious colleges and universities. In Tilton v. Richardson (1971), the Court permitted the use of public funds for the construction of facilities in religious institutions of higher learning. It was found that there was no "excessive entanglement" since the buildings were themselves not religious, unlike teachers in parochial schools, and the aid came in the form of a one-time grant, rather than continuous assistance. One of the largest recent controversies over the amendment centered on school vouchers—government aid for students to attend private (often religious) schools. The Supreme Court, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), upheld the constitutionality of private school vouchers, turning away an Establishment Clause challenge. Voucher advocates have been somewhat disappointed by state responses to the decision, as they have had little success in convincing state legislators to go forward with voucher programs.

Because many "faith" based ministries require their ministers to preach the gospel to the people that they are helping, this is a clear violation of the law. The Salvation Army requires that people pray to get food in their soup kitchens. That's all fine and good as long as our government does not subsidize that action.

Answer 6

Well...

As a Christian....I am all for faith-based anything.
But as far as these helpers are concerned......they should try and recruit some experienced people in their respective fields. All the help in the world is helpless if the person is not doing the correct job.

The thought is definately there.....just not the skill.

Edit:
You're absolutely right.....this could end up getting people killed. Maybe there's just not enough money to get the proper skilled labor.....so sad.