Social Work and the Church -- By Jordan Treuter

After I observed the work of Terry and the ministry he leads, I asked if he wasn't a social worker in addition to a missionary. Terry replied, “I think social work and the church need to reconcile their differences and get married.”

 

“I can’t solve poverty. Jesus made it really clear; if I tried, I’d fail,” Terry says as he holdsa tattered blue bag filled with military and Doc Martin boots. They will be given out in ministry today.

 

It would be a tall task for Terry to solve poverty, let alone homelessness, even inAustin alone. The University of Texas School of Social Work estimates that Austinis home to at least 4,000 homeless, from a wide assortment of backgrounds involving varied disorders and ailments. 

 

Most of their problems stem from a lack of connectedness, according to Rebecca’s Community, an organization that raises awareness for the homeless, specifically in Australia, but with connections to the United States.

 

Without connectedness “specifically to family and friends”people lack theresources and community to provide support and assistance necessary to keep them off the streets. Combine this with eroding work opportunities and a decline in public assistance since 2000, according to National Coalition for the Homeless, and many people wind up living on the streets.

 

The Conference of Mayors recently released a report saying that in every state more than minimum wage was necessary to afford a one or two bedroom apartment that was decent, safe, sanitary and affixed with basic amenities. To afford adequate housing, people would need to make $9.50 per hour.

 

All this is occurring while the price of housing continues to increase.  Since 2000, the price of a one or two bedroom apartment has risen by 43 percent, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. However,  minimum wage has only increased by 29 percent.

 

Additionally,  homeless youth have a difficult time finding a job. In 2007, a survey performed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that only 13 percent of street youth had a job.

 

But the problems aren’t only housing and job related. Fifty percent of homelessness comes as the result of domestic violence and 63 percent of homeless women have experienced domestic violence during their adult lives. While sixteen percent of homeless people suffer from severe or persistent mental illness, according to the U.S.Conference of Mayors.

 

Homeless people also face the very real threat of starting or relapsing into alcohol and drug addiction.  Thirty-eight percent of homeless people reported alcohol dependency and 26 percent reported drug abuse, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

 

But Terry’s ultimate goal isn’t to fix these problems. He does want to see the youth come off the street, but more importantly he wants to see them enter into a relationship with Jesus. He also recognizes that if he started to try to answer these needs,he would be placed in a difficult spot.

 

“Boundaries are important. If I just gave them what they wanted, they would chew me up and spit me out,” he says about the goods he hands out. "It's important to borrow and blend as many good social work practices as possible." SYM bases its work on sound and strong theories from social work that seem to work with our clients. We've studied and applied change theory and processes, strengths based brief therapy, harm reduction, narrative therapy, crisis intervention, formation of groups for therapy, detachment and support, drug counseling, mental health assessment, suicide assessment, trauma informed care, and more. It only makes sense. And we teach these concept to our interns to help prepare them to lead poverty-informed urban ministries in the future. We believe "this is where it's at!"

 

Do you have toughts on Social work and the Church?

 

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LifeWorks Volunteer Spotlight: Terry Cole

I was recently interviewed by Lifeworks volunteer coordinator and features on their website. I hope they will forgive me for quoting most of the article below:

When Terry began volunteering for LifeWorks, he didn’t realize that it would turn into his life’s greatest passion. In August 2003, Terry was asked by a friend to serve a meal for homeless youth. He recalls that “My volunteer service at LifeWorks began on an unlikely note - I wanted to quit after my first hour. However, that hour turned into hundreds and changed my life!”

LifeWorks wasn’t exactly like the service opportunities Terry had been previously afforded. In fact, he had just returned from a mission trip to Mexico before volunteering for LifeWorks. “My first experience at LifeWorks just didn’t have the personal element that the mission trip to Mexico had,” says Terry.

However, after giving it a second chance Terry began to realize that he could connect with the youth of the Street Outreach Program, even if only for a minute. “I found that if I slowed down the serving, I could have almost 90 seconds with each young man or woman to say hi, to ask something about them, and to find out their names.” Every time Terry served a meal to the youth, he was able to continue his conversations and learn more about each person.

After several years of serving meals to youth in the Street Outreach program, Terry was asked by the director of LifeWorks to engage the youth during the meals. To prepare him for longer converations, Terry was given training to follow the LifeWorks model for drawing out the youths’ strengths and encouraging them.

Today, Terry has expanded his committment to Austin’s youth by taking his ministry to the streets. “I want to encourage you to get involved with LifeWorks. Your donations of money, goods and volunteer hours go very far at LifeWorks. The work has great impact and great outcomes because of the sound basis of the LifeWorks programs in social work and training.”

Source: Lifeworksaustin Blog, Mar 10, 2009

http://lifeworksaustin.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/lifeworks-volunteer-spotlight-terry-cole/