OUCH!!

The last 18 months have been a period of transformation for me as a leader and for Urban Connection.  It hasn't been easy, it has been gut wrenching at times.  A lot of cuts and bruises.  I've had to make some very tough decisions in order to bring about healing and get the organization back into alignment with its original purpose and vision.

For a while I felt that something was wrong. Wasn't exactly sure what it was, but we weren't having the impact that we should be having in the community.  We'd been here 9 years and we were sharing the love of God, and building genuine community...weren't we?  At closer look no.  We were building something, alright, a dependency and sense of entitlement that was frightening. We  were building relationships, meeting needs, but nothing was changing but the increase in the number of people we were serving and our expense budget.  People were just as broken, just as dependent, just as lost and angry as when we started.  I woke up one day and realized that we were hurting the very people we were trying to help.

OUCH!!! 

What do we do?   I found the answer in the book "Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life; Rethinking Ministry to the Poor", by Robert D. Lupton:

"How then do we care for those in need without doing them harm?  Social policies over the past four decades have taught us that programs intended to help can rather quickly become entitlements, and entitlements engender unhealthy dependency.  Our challenge, then, is to couple unconditional kindness with appropriate opportunities that foster one's growth toward full potential.  The gestation time will vary widely.  Some will surprise us with their strength and quickness.  Others will disappoint us with their lack of motivation and slowness.  But all must assume full responsibility for their own rate of progress or regress.  We who would help do a disservice by offering relief from the essential discipline of their emergence from the cocoon."

So we have changed. We have a new Vision, Mission and Goals.  With this change there is No more free food, No more free clothes, school supplies, programming etc.  Fees are low, but everyone has to take responsibility for what is happening in the neighborhood.

If our neighbors need food they can purchase it through the Angel Food Ministries program  http://www.angelfoodministries.comhost.asp?id=15357  (you can use it too, if you want). $35 will feed a family of 4 for a week using this program and it is food just like you'd buy in the store. 

If parents what their children in our programs they will pay dues as low as $45 for one child for a whole semester if they meet certain income guidelines.   If they can't afford it then they can volunteer at Urban Connection, the local schools or another non-profit.  But nothing will be free.

This is just the beginning of our changes.  It has been a tough transition for some, but others are moving a long without missing a beat. 

I think I see healing beginning...