The Hope 95: Examples of what Christians do

WORLD has reported on Christian poverty-fighting groups since the magazine began in 1986, but our coverage increased when the effective compassion movement began in 1995 and increased once more in 2006 when we began presenting the Hope Award for Effective Compassion. Our goal is to honor a few of the self-sacrificing Christian helpers in neighborhoods throughout the United States and to profile groups that have built replicable programs—we hope others will go and do likewise.

If you’re looking for ways to love your neighbor, we offer below a directory of the 95 Hope Award finalists from 2006 through 2016 (be sure to vote for the winner of this years Hope Award—but hurry, voting ends Aug. 29). We’ve placed each organization in a category that shows its major focus:

A: Addiction B: Babies C: Community D: Disabilities E: Education F: Family G: Gardening H: Homelessness I: Immigration J: Jobs L: Legal needs M: Medical P: Prison R: Repair work S: Sex T: Transportation Y: Youth

After the organization’s name, we also included letters for the other categories in which the group also serves. Overlaps go with the territory: a rescue mission may help homeless men and women to beat addictions, reunite with their families, or attain lodging and employment.

We have four different letters after “What it takes”:

L: License S: Specific skill (such as auto repair) E: Experience (such as that a mother gains) N: Neighborliness (a simple desire to invest time in helping others)

We then list principles embodied in a program (see “Defining principles” at the end of this directory for an explanation of these principles):

A: Affiliation B: Bonding C: Categorization D: Discernment E: Employment

We also offer a state-by-state listing at the end. For our 2017 Hope Award competition we’ll give preference to groups from the 16 states that have never had a finalist. That means, from what we define as our Northeast region: Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia. From our Southeast region: Mississippi and South Carolina. From our Northwest region: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oregon. And from our Southwest region: Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Addiction

Bay Area Rescue Mission A, H, J, Y Where it is: California What it offers: Emergency shelter, long-term discipleship, job and computer training, education through local schools, culinary arts program, financial and spiritual counseling, transitionary housing, youth outreach, mobile outreach program What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

CityTeam Ministries A, B, H, J, M Where it is: Pennsylvania What it offers: Addiction recovery, Bible studies, child care, food boxes, healthcare, job training What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: C, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Fresno Rescue Mission A, F, H Where it is: California What it offers: Addiction counseling, skill training, emergency housing, parenting counseling and classes, hot meals, haircuts, literacy training, career mentoring What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Guiding Light Mission A, H, J Where it is: Michigan What it offers: Chemical detox program, biblical teaching, career counseling and back-to-work program, GED education What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: B, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Lighthouse Ministries A, E, H, J, N Where it is: Florida What it offers: Addiction counseling, accountability programs, shelter, preschool and adult education, case management, job training in thrift stores, spiritual counseling What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Panama City Rescue Mission A, H, F, J Where it is: Florida What it offers: Shelter, anti-addiction discipleship, life-skills programs, clothing, transitional housing, workforce preparation, jobs What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Promise of Hope A, F Where it is: Georgia What it offers: Recovery from addiction at a rural refuge, work, family counseling What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Redwood Gospel Mission A, H, J Where it is: California What it offers: Emergency shelter, anti-addiction help, shelter, work in the mission thrift store What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: C, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Restoration Ministry’s Harvey and Tabitha Houses A, H, J, L, Y Where it is: Illinois What it offers: Anti-addiction and spiritual training programs, shelter, job opportunities, legal representation, youth programs, art education, boxing club What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, C, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Solus Christus A, G Where it is: North Carolina What it offers: Pre-rehab home, spiritual counsel, farm work, life-skills training What it takes: E Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Union Mission Ministry’s New Life Center A, D, H, M, Y Where it is: Virginia What it offers: Rehab from addictions, life-skills training for women, a foster home and youth camp for kids, medical care and shelter for the homeless, programs for the elderly and disabled What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Babies (unborn)

Alpha Pregnancy Help Center B, F, M, S Where it is: California What it offers: Free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, counseling, parenting and sex-education classes What it takes: L, E Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Heartbeat of Miami B, F, M Where it is: Florida What it offers: Free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, pregnancy care, counseling, adoption and parenting support What it takes: L, E Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Community

Active Compassion Through Service (ACTS) C, H Where it is: Philadelphia What it offers: Prison, nursing home, and AIDS hospice services; meals and classes for the homeless; a springboard to other ministries What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Challenge House C Where it is: Kentucky What it offers: Homes for Christian families in inner-city neighborhoods What it takes: N Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Emmanuel Gospel Center C Where it is: Massachusetts What it offers: Research services to monitor urban development for local church ministries What it takes: S Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Hope International C, Y Where it is: Haiti What it offers: Biblically based financial training and coaching, savings programs, youth programs, microloan network What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: A, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Lighthouse Community Center C, E, F, G, I, Y Where it is: California What it offers: Leadership training, youth groups, community garden, tutoring, literacy education, citizenship classes What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Samaritan Strategy Africa C Where it is: West Africa What it offers: Economic growth through Christian-based worldview and financial clubs, entrepreneurship “seed” projects, spiritual mentorship, inter-ministry church networks What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: A, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Seeds of Hope A, C, H, S Where it is: New Jersey What it offers: Street outreach, Bible studies, and mentorship programs designed to help addicts, the homeless, ex-prisoners, and prostitutes What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

South Side Mission C, H, J, M, Y Where it is: Illinois What it offers: An adopt-the-block program, cooking school, senior citizen clinic, soup kitchen, shelter, youth groups What it takes: L, S, N Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

The Shepherd Community Center C, E, G, M, Y Where it is: Indiana What it offers: Youth ministries, Christian school, community garden, food pantry, adult counseling, health clinic What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

St. Francis Center C, E, G, H, I, Y Where it is: California What it offers: K-5 private school with classes for parents, prep for citizenship, community garden, emergency aid, youth programs, affordable housing What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: A, C WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Disabilities

Christ for People with Developmental Disabilities D Where it is: Minnesota What it offers: Bi-weekly services, specialized outreach program What it takes: L, N Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Guardian Angel Homes Faith-in-Action D Where it is: Michigan What it offers: Pairs up individuals from the community with disabled residents and encourages some residents to seek independence through apartment-living options What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: A, B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Galilean Home Ministries (formerly Galilean Children’s Home) B, D, E, P, Y Where is it: Kentucky What it offers: Home and Christian school for orphaned children, babies of imprisoned mothers, and the disabled What it takes: L, E Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Happy Hands Education Center D, E Where is it: Oklahoma What it offers: Education for deaf children, after-school programs What it takes: L, S Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

New Day Foster Home B, C, D, M, R Where it is: China What it offers: Home and foster parents for disabled children, critical surgery payments, medical care, employment, English and computer skill courses, home repair, milk formula for orphanages, homeschool co-op What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: A, B, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Shepherds Ministries D, E, J Where it is: Wisconsin What it offers: Preparation for internship and career through a college education, jobs, a home for more severely disabled individuals What it takes: L, S, E Principles embodied: E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Education

Church Hill Activities & Tutoring (CHAT) E, P, Y Where it is: Virginia What it offers: Preschool and after-school programs, Christian academy, education for prisoners What it takes: L, E Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Hope Academy E, Y Where it is: Minnesota What it offers: Affordable classical Christian school education for inner-city children What it takes: L, E Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

The Oaks Academy E, Y Where it is: Indiana What if offers: Affordable classical Christian elementary and middle school education in the inner city Indianapolis, arts opportunities, sport teams, summer camp, and after-school programs What it takes: L, S, E Principles embodied: A, B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Shivani Medes School E, Y Where it is: Iraq What it offers: Classical Christian education, a communal lifeline for Yazidi refugees fleeing from ISIS What it takes: L, S Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Family

Beacon Hill F Where it is: Alaska What it offers: Foster and adoptive care network and family reunification center What it takes: E Principles embodied: A, B, C WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Neighborhood Christian Center C, F, Y Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: Parenting education, marriage programs, emergency aid, job training, Bible studies, camps, after-school groups What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

My Safe Harbor F Where it is: California What it offers: Help for single mothers, monthly fellowship meetings, life-skills mentoring, family development classes What it takes: E Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Snappin’ D, F Where it is: Wisconsin What it offers: Support for families of disabled children via prayer, babysitting, fellowship, and financial aid What it takes: E Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Gardening

Friends Ministry C, G Where it is: Michigan What it offers: Work in community garden in exchange for financial aid, a senior citizen food pantry What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Homelessness

Bowery Mission’s Women’s Center A, H, J Where it is: New York What it offers: Long-term shelter, career development program, spiritual guidance, art classes What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: B, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Crossroads Center Rescue Mission H, J Where it is: Nebraska What it offers: Shelter, employment and finance programs, life-skills courses, employment opportunities What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Hope Christian Center A, H, J Where it is: New York What it offers: Shelter, recovery program, volunteer experience, employment, Bible classes What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: B, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Interfaith Housing Coalition G, H, J, Y Where it is: Texas What it offers: Affordable furnished apartments, career development, community garden, financial coaching, children’s programs What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Joshua Station F, H, L, Y Where it is: Colorado What it offers: Affordable refurbished motel rooms, community service opportunities, legal help, financial coaching, family counseling What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A, C, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Grace Centers of Hope A, H, J, Y Where it is: Michigan What it offers: Christ-centered rehab, transitional home, shelter, affordable apartments, child care, GED and computer education program, career development guidance, summer camp What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Mission Solano A, H, J Where it is: California What it offers: Shelter at local churches, meals and clothing, rehab program, veterans’ home, transitional programs, community outreach center, incoming culinary training institute What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Sunshine Ministries A, E, H, Y Where it is: Missouri What it offers: Emergency shelter, soup kitchen, food pantry, recovery program, Bible studies, career development services, life-skills and computer classes, preschool, youth camps What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Orange County Rescue Mission’s The Village of Hope A, G, H, M, Y Where it is: California What it offers: Affordable housing, meals, medical and dental care, daycare, vocational and GED courses, financial counseling, case management, therapy groups, worship services, after-school tutoring, hair salon, community garden, recreation fields What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Immigration

Crossroads Nogales Rescue Mission A, I, P, Y Where it is: Arizona What it offers: Shelter, meals, clothing drive, chapel services, a recovery and probation program, summer camp, counseling What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Exodus I Where it is: Illinois What it offers: Network of Christian neighbors for refugees, welcome care packages What it takes: N Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

The Root Cellar I, M, Y Where it is: Maine What it offers: Food distribution, ESL classes, job training opportunities, microloans, medical and dental clinic, case management, youth activities, international teas and breakfasts, Bible study, clothing store, citizenship programs What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Jobs

Advance Memphis A, F, J, L Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: Vocational training, GED classes, legal aid, addiction and anger management help, family counseling, staffing program, financial guidance, individual development accounts, entrepreneurship course What it takes: L, S, E Principles embodied: A, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Bud’s Warehouse J Where it is: Colorado What it offers: Vocational training and jobs in home improvement/thrift store, lifestyle coaching, spiritual counsel What it takes: E Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Begin Anew of Middle Tennessee (formerly Christian Women’s Job Corp) J Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: GED, literacy, computer, and Bible courses, job mentoring, child care Why it takes: S, E Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Community Warehouse C, J Where it is: Wisconsin What it offers: Jobs for the unemployed, vocational training, affordable building and house restoration materials What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Job for Life J, P Where it is: North Carolina What it offers: Vocational training and mentorship through church, prison and addict reentry programs, YMCA-facilitated curriculum What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

A Hand Up For Women (formerly Knox County Christian Women’s Job Corps) J Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: Biblically based lifestyle counseling and job training What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Victory Trade School J Where it is: Missouri What it offers: Free training for gourmet culinary and hospitality certificates, child care, GED courses, home appliances for graduates What it takes: L, S, E Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

WorkFaith Connection J Where it is: Texas What it offers: Christ-based vocational boot camp and career counseling What it takes: E Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Law

Administer Justice I, L Where it is: Illinois What it offers: Bi-lingual pro-bono legal services, low-income taxpayer clinic, financial and conflict resolution counseling, prayer and encouragement, jumping-off point for community help and involvement What it takes: L Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Advocates for Community Transformation C, L Where it is: Texas What it does: Busts drug houses in court through volunteer legal help and community involvement What it takes: L Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Medical

Christ Clinic M Where it is: Washington What it offers: Affordable healthcare to the uninsured, psychiatric services, life-skills counseling, prayers and encouragement, network to other affordable and pro-bono healthcare resources What it takes: L Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

CrossOver Healthcare Ministry M Where it is: Virginia What it offers: Free health and dental care for the uninsured, prayer, in-house pharmacy What it takes: L Principles embodied: D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Mercy Health Clinic M Where it is: Georgia What it offers: Free medical and dental care to the poor and uninsured, in-house pharmacy and pharmacy refill clinics What it takes: L Principles embodied: D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Prison

Forgiven Ministry F, P Where it is: North Carolina What it offers: Programs for prisoners, including parent-child camps and family support groups, prayer and counseling center, children’s prison visitation room with worship program, reentry counseling, family support group for convicts, movie events, Bible studies, terminally ill visitation program What it takes: N Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries P Where it is: North Carolina What it offers: Bible studies, clergy visitation program, worship services, creative arts programs for inmates and children, literacy program, parenting and prison survival classes, in-house and reentry mentorship, prison ministry tutoring for churches What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

New Horizons F, P, J Where it is: Colorado What it offers: Short- and long-term foster care for children with incarcerated mothers, inmate reintegration facilities, parenting and Bible courses, jobs through thrift store What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, C, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Rachel’s House F, P Where it is: Ohio What it offers: Christian rehab center for female ex-convicts, family visitation program, job and life-skills guidance, community support team and mentorship What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Straight Ahead A, P, Y Where it is: Massachusetts What it offers: Youth reentry and addiction recovery program, in-prison Bible studies, life-skills and job training, GED or college enrollment help, volunteer programs, juvenile ministry training, Christmas gift prison program What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Repairs

Genesee County Habitat for Humanity H, R Where it is: Michigan What it offers: Affordable homes for the needy, home and neighborhood repair and rehabilitation What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

New Song Urban Ministries E, J, M, R, Y Where it is: Maryland What it offers: Home-remodeling, job training, healthcare, school and preschool offshoots What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A, B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Parker Street Ministries C, R, Y Where it is: Florida What it offers: Home-revitalization and repairs, educational programs, youth camp, community events, neighborhood outreach What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Roving Volunteers in Christ’s Service J, R Where it is: All over the United States What it offers: Volunteer opportunities for retirees to repair and beautify Christian nonprofit facilities What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: D, F, G WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

St. Roch Community Development Corporation C, J, R Where it is: Louisiana What it offers: Home revitalization and repairs; financial, literary, and job training classes; entrepreneurship aid What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Sex

A Way Out A, S Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: Prostitute, stripper, and addict recovery program; safe housing; job training; clothing; financial and medical assistance; family and addiction counseling; Bible studies What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Treasures (formerly I Am a Treasure) S Where it is: California What it offers: Community outreach to sex industry workers and sexually exploited children, mentoring and professional counseling, care packages, retreats and recreational events, training for other sex-trade ministries What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Transportation

Hands of the Carpenter R, T Where it is: Colorado What it offers: Car repairs for widows and single mothers, car maintenance education clinics What it takes: S Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Maury United Ministries T Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: Free rides, repaired vehicle donations for the needy, local Christian ministry fund pool What it takes: S, N Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Youth

Arkansas Sheriff’s Youth Ranches G, Y Where it is: Arkansas What it offers: Rural residential foster program for abused and neglected children, farm work, equestrian therapy program What it takes: E Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Campus Clubs Y Where it is: Georgia What it offers: Youth camps, career training, Bible study, after-school program, tutoring, learning center with computer lab What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Compassion International (Central America) B, Y Where it is: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala What it offers: Child development programs; clothes making, computer training, and abuse defense classes for children; parenting classes for adults; after-school tutoring; child sponsorship program What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Fathers in the Field Y Where it is: Wyoming What it offers: Foster-father mentorship program for fatherless boys through outdoor sports, church, and community service What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Freedom for Youth H, J, Y Where it is: Iowa What it offers: Biblically-based after-school and summer programs, career training and personal development courses, high school small groups, leadership and life-skills training, residence program for homeless young adults, employment at coffee shop and construction sites What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, D, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Hope House E, D, Y Where it is: Idaho What it offers: Foster home for abandoned, abused, or disabled children, with Christian school, equine, outdoors, and sports programs What it takes: L, E, N Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Hope Now for Youth Y Where it is: California What it offers: Mentorship and employment program for at-risk youth and former gang members What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B, C, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

A House on Beekman C, Y Where it is: New York What it offers: Mentoring for parents, preschool and afterschool program, summer camp What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Jubilee Leadership Academy E, F, Y Where it is: Washington What it offers: Accredited boarding school for at-risk boys, horsemanship and sports programs, counseling, vocational training, farm work, and service-learning opportunities What it takes: L, S, E Principles embodied: A, B, E WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

K.I.D.S Christian Music Center Y Where it is: Alabama What it offers: Affordable music and dance lessons, pianos for students in need, community choir, youth musicals, Bible classes, field trips, summer camp, after-school tutors, motivational speakers What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: B, C WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Long Island Youth Mentoring F, Y Where it is: New York What it offers: Mentorship program for foster children and single mothers, literacy tutoring through churches and public schools, training for other mentorship programs What it takes: E, N Principles embodied: A, B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Northern Youth Program F, P, Y Where it is: Canada What it offers: Bible studies, youth camp, boys and girls clubs, counseling, prison visitation, parenting workshops, and aviation-based ministry to Inuit communities What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: A, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Neighborhood Christian Center’s TRUTH Seekers Y Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: After-school Bible study program for children and youth, tutoring, financial literacy, multimedia and arts training, summer camp, meals, scholarships What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Rock Ministries Y Where it is: Pennsylvania What it offers: Classes in boxing and jujitsu for urban youth; weightlifting gym, art and computer room for children What it takes: S, E Principles embodied: B WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Urban Promise E, Y Where it is: New Jersey What it offers: Biblically-based summer camps for kids; Christian elementary, middle, and high schools; outdoor adventure and boat building programs; yoga classes and life center; fine arts courses; after-school enrichment; culinary courses; leadership training for youth What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Mind Body Awareness Project (formerly Vision Youthz) P, Y Where it is: California What it offers: Center for youth on probation, mindfulness training for communities and school groups, outdoor activities, yoga courses, groceries, job-hunting resources, goal-centered counseling, references to vocational schools and colleges What it takes: E Principles embodied: B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Wears Valley Ranch E, Y Where it is: Tennessee What it offers: Rural foster home for at-risk and abused children, personalized homeschool opportunities, horse therapy, sports programs, counseling What it takes: S, E, N Principles embodied: A, B, C WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Youth Horizons E, Y Where it is: Kansas What it offers: Mentorship program for at-risk youth, boys foster ranch, education through public school system, life- and job-skills training What it takes: L, S, E, N Principles embodied: A, B, D WORLD’s profile Organization’s website

Defining principles

All of these programs begin with a strong belief in God as the Bible reveals Him. The history of Christian poverty fighting in America also shows reliance on five basic principles built on biblical understandings of who we are.

1. Affiliation

A century ago, when individuals applied for material assistance, charity volunteers tried first to “restore family ties that have been sundered” and “reabsorb in social life those who for some reason have snapped the threads that bound them to other members of the community.” Instead of immediately offering help, charities asked, “Who is bound to help in this case?” Mary Richmond of the Baltimore Charity Organizing Society summed up in 1897 the wisdom of a century: “Relief given without reference to friends and neighbors is accompanied by moral loss. Poor neighborhoods are doomed to grow poorer whenever the natural ties of neighborliness are weakened by well-meant but unintelligent interference.”

Today, before developing a foundation project or contributing to a private charity, we should ask: “Does it work through families, neighbors, and religious or community organizations, or does it supersede them?” For example, studies show that many homeless alcoholics have families, but they do not want to be with them. When homeless shelters provide food, clothing, and housing without asking hard questions, aren’t they subsidizing disaffiliation and enabling addiction? Instead of giving aid directly to homeless men, why not work on reuniting them with brothers, sisters, parents, wives, or children?

We should ask, as well, whether other programs help or hurt. It’s good to help an unmarried teenager mother, but much such aid now offers a mirage of independence. A better plan is to reunite her whenever possible with those on whom she actually depends, whether she admits it or not: her parents and the child’s father. It’s good to give Christmas presents to poor children, but when the sweet-minded “helper” shows up with a shiny new fire truck that outshines the second-hand items a poor single mom put together, the damage is done. A better plan is to bulwark the beleaguered mom by enabling her to provide a better present.

2. Bonding

When applicants for help a century ago were truly alone, volunteers worked one-on-one to become, in essence, new family members. Charity volunteers a century ago usually were not assigned to massive food-dispensing tasks but were given the narrow but deep responsibility of making a difference in one life over several years. Kindness and firmness were both essential: The magazine American Hebrew in 1898 told of how one man was sunk into dependency, but a volunteer “with great patience convinced him that he must earn his living”; soon he did and regained the respect of his family and community. Similarly, a woman had become demoralized, but “for months she was worked with, now through kindness, again through discipline, until finally she began to show a desire to help herself.”

Today, when an unmarried pregnant teenager is dumped by her boyfriend and abandoned by angry parents who refuse to be reconciled, she needs a haven, a room in a home with a volunteer family. When a single mom at the end of her rope cannot take care of a toddler, he should be placed quickly for adoption where a new and permanent bonding can take place, rather than rotated through a succession of foster homes. Some failed programs spend a lot of money but are too stingy in what is truly important: treating people as human beings made in God’s image, not as animals.

3. Categorization

Charities a century ago realized that two persons in exactly the same material circumstances, but with different values, need different treatment: One might benefit most from some material help and a pat on the back, the other might need spiritual challenge and a push. Those who were orphaned, elderly, or disabled received aid; jobless adults who were “able and willing to work” received help in finding a job; “those who prefer to live on alms” and those of “confirmed intemperance” were not entitled to material assistance.

“Work tests” helped both in sorting and in providing relief with dignity. When an able-bodied man came to a homeless shelter, he often was asked to chop wood for two hours or to whitewash a building; in that way he could provide part of his own support and also help those unable to chop. A needy woman generally was given a seat in the “sewing room” (often near a child care room) and asked to work on garments that would be donated to the helpless poor or sent through the Red Cross to families suffering from the effects of hurricanes or tornadoes. The work test, along with teaching good habits and keeping away those who did not really need help, also enabled charities to teach the lesson that those who were being helped could help others.

Today, don’t we need to stop talking about “the poor” in abstraction and start distinguishing once again between those who truly yearn for help and those who just want an enabler? Programs have the chance to succeed only when categories are established and firmly maintained. Work tests can help: Why shouldn’t some homeless men clean up streets and parks and remove graffiti? Now, as thousands of crack babies born addicted to cocaine and often deserted by mothers who care only for the next high, languish in hospitals under bright lights and with almost no human contact, why shouldn’t homeless women (some are psychotic or sick, but others are healthy and gentle) be assigned to hold a baby for an hour in exchange for food and shelter?

4. Discernment

“Intelligent giving and intelligent withholding are alike true charity,” the New Orleans Charity Organization Society declared in 1899. “If drink has made a man poor, money will feed not him, but his drunkenness.” Poverty fighters a century ago trained volunteers to leave behind a conventional attitude toward the poor, seeing them through the comfortable haze of their own intentions. Barriers against fraud were important not only to prevent waste but to preserve morale among those who were working hard to remain independent: “Nothing is more demoralizing to the struggling poor than successes of the indolent.”

Bad charity also created uncertainty among givers as to how their contributions would be used, and led to less giving over the long term: It was important to “reform those mild, well-meaning, tender-hearted, sweet-voiced criminals who insist upon indulging in indiscriminate charity.” Compassion was greatest when givers could “work with safety, confidence, and liberty.” Today, lack of discernment in helping poor individuals is rapidly producing an anti-compassion backlash, as the better-off—unable to distinguish between the truly needy and the grubby-grabby—give to neither.

5. Employment

New York charity leader Josephine Lowell wrote that “the problem before those who would be charitable, is not how to deal with a given number of the poor; it is how to help those who are poor, without adding to their numbers and constantly increasing the evils they seek to cure.” If people were paid for not working, the number of non-workers would increase, and children would grow up without seeing work as a natural and essential part of life. Individuals had to accept responsibility: Governmental programs operating without the discipline of the marketplace were inherently flawed, because their payout comes “from what is regarded as a practically inexhaustible source, and people who once receive it are likely to regard it as a right, as a permanent pension, implying no obligation on their part.”

Today, programs that stress employment, sometimes in creative ways, need new emphasis. For example, more of the able-bodied might receive not housing but the opportunity to work for a home through “sweat equity” arrangements in which labor constitutes most of the down payment. Some who start in vigorous programs of this sort drop out with complaints that too much sweat is required—but one person who stayed in a program said at the end, “We are poor, but we have something that is ours. When you use your own blood, sweat, and tears, it’s part of your soul. You stand and say, ‘I did it.’”

From The Tragedy of American Compassion by Marvin Olasky.

State-by-state listings

Alabama (1): K.I.D.S Christian Music Center (youth)

Alaska (1): Beacon Hill (family)

Arizona (1): Crossroads Nogales Rescue Mission (immigration)

Arkansas (1): Arkansas Sheriff’s Youth Ranches (youth)

California (12): Bay Area Rescue Mission (addiction), Fresno Rescue Mission (addiction), Redwood Gospel Mission (addiction), Alpha Pregnancy Help Center (babies), Lighthouse Community Center (community), St. Francis Center (community), My Safe Harbor (families), Mission Solano (homelessness), Orange County Rescue Mission’s The Village of Hope (homelessness), Treasures (sex), Hope Now for Youth (youth), Mind Body Awareness Project (youth)

Colorado (4): Joshua Station (homelessness), Bud’s Warehouse (jobs), New Horizons (prison), Hands of the Carpenter (transportation)

Florida (4): Lighthouse Ministries (addiction), Panama City Rescue Mission (addiction), Heartbeat of Miami (babies), Parker Street Ministries (repairs)

Georgia (3): Promise of Hope (addiction), Mercy Health Clinic (medical), Campus Clubs (youth)

Idaho (1): Hope House (youth)

Illinois (4): Restoration Ministry’s Harvey and Tabitha Houses (addiction), South Side Mission (community), Exodus (immigration), Administer Justice (legal)

Indiana (2): The Shepherd Community Center (community), The Oaks Academy (education)

Iowa (1): Freedom for Youth (youth)

Kansas (1): Youth Horizons (youth)

Kentucky (2): Challenge House (community), Galilean Home Ministries (disabilities)

Louisiana (1): St. Roch Community Development Corporation (repairs)

Maine (1): The Root Cellar (immigration)

Maryland (1): New Song Urban Ministries (repair)

Massachusetts (2): Emmanuel Gospel Center (community), Straight Ahead (prison)

Michigan (5): Guiding Light Mission (addiction), Guardian Angel Homes Faith-in-Action (disabilities), Friends Ministry (gardening), Grace Centers of Hope (homelessness), Genesee County Habitat for Humanity (repairs)

Minnesota (2): Christ for People with Developmental Disabilities (disabilities), Hope Academy (education)

Missouri (2): Sunshine Ministries (homelessness), Victory Trade School (jobs)

Nebraska (1): Crossroads Center Rescue Mission (homelessness)

New Jersey (2): Seeds of Hope (community), Urban Promise (youth)

New York (4): Bowery Mission’s Women’s Center (homelessness), Hope Christian Center (homelessness), A House on Beekman (youth), Long Island Youth Mentoring (youth)

North Carolina (4): Solus Christus (addiction), Job for Life (jobs), Forgiven Ministry (prison), Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries (prison)

Ohio (1): Rachel’s House (prison)

Oklahoma (1): Happy Hands Education Center (education)

Pennsylvania (2): CityTeam Ministries (addiction), Rock Ministries (youth)

Tennessee (8): Neighborhood Christian Center (families), Advance Memphis (jobs), Begin Anew of Middle Tennessee (jobs), A Hand Up for Women (jobs), A Way Out (sex), Maury United Ministries (transportation), Neighborhood Christian Center’s TRUTH Seekers (youth), Wears Valley Ranch (youth)

Texas (3): Interfaith Housing Coalition (homelessness), WorkFaith Connection (jobs), Advocates for Community Transformation (legal)

Virginia (3): Union Mission Ministry’s New Life Center (addiction), Church Hill Activities & Tutoring (education), CrossOver Healthcare Ministry (medical)

Washington (2): Christ Clinic (medical), Jubilee Leadership Academy (youth)

Wisconsin (3): Shepherd’s Ministries (disabilities), Snappin’ (families), Community Warehouse (jobs)

Wyoming (1): Fathers in the Field (youth)

International (5): Hope International (community), Samaritan Strategy Africa (community), New Day Foster Home (disabilities), Shivani Medes School (education), Compassion International Central America (youth), Northern Youth Program (youth)

Roving (1): Volunteers in Christ’s Service (repairs)