Metro Youth Network

There is a little debate one wether or not dropping Haiti’s $890 million international debt would contribute to re-building a strong or weaker country.  While you should research the issue, let us refer to a few points that ONE has posted on their website about the debt cancellation:

1.  $93 billion has been canceled in sub-Saharan African countries since 1996.

2.  Lesotho paid $47 million to its creditors in 2006, an amount equivalent to two-thirds of the development assistance it receives each year.

3.  3.1 million more Tanzanian children enrolled in school after the government used its savings from debt relief to eliminate school fees in 2001.

That last fact is quite astounding.  Debt relief does seem to make a difference.  Wherever you fall on this debate, make sure you do some researching (both in the news and in the Bible [remember the year of Jubilee]), and make a decision on the ONE Campaign’s “Drop the Debt” campaign.

To read more on debt relief, visit ONE’s website.  Or, to read more about the “Drop the Debt” campaign and to sign the petition to cancel Haiti’s debt, click here.

(By Amanda Keene) – After doing research on the amount of money put into the corrections system in the United States, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that expenditures on corrections alone have increased from $9,000,000 in 1982 to $59,000,000 in 2002. Looking at this dramatic increase of expenditures, it is interesting to note that of the 272,111 offenders released from prison in 15 States in 2000, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% re-sentenced to prison for a new crime. Does this make sense that so much money is going into putting offenders in jail when they will just later return after serving their time? Changes need to be made in how offenders are treated and how they are prepared to be reintegrated back into society.

Those who are drug offenders are most times put directly into prison in order to serve their punishment for their crime without the alternative to drug treatment programs. An evaluation that was done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that only six months after drug treatment, 60% of the drug abusers remained drug free, and drug related offenses declined from 28% to 7%. Drug treatment plans do work and cost less that putting a person into prison, yet treatment is not usually given as an alternative.

After an offender of any sort is released from prison, he or she many times does not effectively re-integrate back into society. An offender may be denied work because employers do not want to hire a person with a criminal record. General education within prisons can vary from quality education to no education at all. The percentage of state prisoners who are participating in offered educational courses decreased by more than 8% between 1991 and 1997 because funding for the courses ceased. This happened despite the fact that there is growing evidence of how educational programming reduces recidivism. This lack of education leaves ex-offenders without basic skills that are needed for job employment. Without employment, ex-offenders are many times faced with poverty since they do not have income coming in to provide for themselves and/or their families. This all results in something I like to call a vicious cycle.

One year ago, the Second Chance Act of 2007 was enacted. This is great because it provides the following:

1. The establishment of new and innovative programs to improve offender reentry services

2. Drug treatment programs as an alternative to imprisonment

3. Creation of mentoring and other transitional services for reintegrating offenders into the community

4. Reentry research on juvenile and adult offender reentry

This is a big step, but more can be done. We need to take more of a look at how to give ex-offenders basic life skills that can be useful to them in their reentry into society. I’m writing about this specific topic because I work with many men who are struggling with these issues after coming out of prison. They were released from prison but were never taught how to deal with their substance abuse issues, so they go right back into the destructive habits. They can’t hold a job, which means that they don’t have income, which means that they can’t afford housing, which eventually results in homelessness.

What can we do? Pray would be the most obvious. Pray for these men and women, the organizations who provide services for them, and the government. Praise God for the work that He is doing already, and pray that He would continue to bring to the minds of those with influence the things that need to be changed within the prison system and community. Also, if you are interested in following different bills and acts being talked about in Congress and the House of Representatives, you can go to the following website: http://thomas.loc.gov/. You can type in key words such as “prison”, “recidivism”, or “reentry,” and you will see a list of different pieces of legislation that are still in the process of being passed, as well as legislation that has already been passed on this issue. You can look up other issues as well, and know that you have a voice. You can write to your legislators and government officials about different social injustices that you are passionate about seeing changed. Look up pieces of legislation on the topics you are passionate about and urge officials to pass bills or acts that will bring justice. All it takes is some time, and I know you all have time….just get off Facebook for 10 minutes! So I challenge you to make a difference and actually take some action! Don’t just sit around and wait for someone else to do the work, because then it will never get done.

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” –Micah 6:8

(By John Kim) – I recently read a book entitled “Beyond Charity” by John Perkins, which challenged me deeply – one of those books that make you wonder whether you’re doing this whole Christianity thing correctly or not. Not just at a personal level, but being from The Salvation Army, I had to ask the same question of my church. As historically rooted in the social gospel as The Salvation Army is, and even today with its wide range of social service ministries, is it possible that we are failing to go beyond charity as a whole? An uncomfortable question, to be sure, but eventually I was able to walk away from this book not discouraged, but rather, challenged to action.

The basic point that Perkins drove in for me, going right along with the title of this book, was the utter inadequacy of the charity mentality when it comes to ministering to the urban poor of America: “America’s best intentions, most sincere thoughts, noblest efforts – all of these are useless to the urban poor if they do not connect with our personally defined, deepest felt needs…Overcoming an attitude of charity is a difficult task because it requires givers to demand more of themselves than good will” (p.23). So it seems that in the case of inner city ministry, good intentions and sincere motivations are far from adequate to get the job done. Coming from a relatively wealthy church in a relatively wealthy part of the city, this forced me to honestly evaluate our serious lack of involvement with the poor of our city. Are we doing enough? Hardly. Even the little that we do do could easily be out of sense of guilt, as Perkins painfully points out: “Sometimes our giving is motivated by guilt. When this is the case, we are giving for selfish reasons – to make ourselves feel okay…undisciplined giving can be just as destructive as the poverty it was meant to alleviate” (pp.23-24). Ouch! How many times have I been motivated by guilt, and thus actually acted selfishly, in my giving to the poor? Is it possible that my supposed generosity could’ve actually had a destructive effect on those to whom I gave? Scary thought.

The alternative to the quick-fix mentality, then, begins with a clear identification with the felt needs of the urban poor: “With the transformation of ‘you, them, and theirs’ to ‘we, us, and ours’ we will understand most clearly the real problems facing the poor; then we may begin to look for real solutions” (p.31). One of Perkins’ most challenging points, both through his words and through the example of his life, is the challenge to relocate into the inner city where transformation must take place. It is a model consistent with the Incarnation of Christ when He gave up the luxuries of heaven to come and dwell among us. This is how a community’s needs become our own needs – basic needs for things such as security, education, health care, etc. As clear and courageous as this call for physical relocation was, I was glad that there was also a call for ‘encouragers, investors and volunteers’ for inner city ministry also. For surely there are real spiritual needs in suburban and rural America also, and so the presence of Christians there is no less important in light of the Great Commission. The bottom line, I believe, has to be the specific calling of God on each of our lives.

According to Perkins, the first mark of an authentic church is this: “The authentic church absorbs pain” (p.45). I am burdened to know what this must mean for my local church, and for The Salvation Army as a whole in the 21st century. I pray that we will learn to go beyond charity in all of our outreach and social services, that we will clearly identify with the felt needs of the poor all around us, and that we would courageously follow God’s specific calling on our lives, no matter where that may take us.

(By Sarah Kincaid) – There have been a few standout moments in my life when I’ve felt as if God has pushed me down by my shoulders, grabbed my chin, pointed it in another direction and said, “look.” Driving down Chicago Avenue on the west side of Chicago through what’s known to be a dangerous neighborhood happened to be one of them.

People of all ages loitered on corners, sat in cars, shuffled down sidewalks, seemingly waiting for something to happen. One group huddled up caught my attention. I instantly assumed the worst. “I don’t even want to know what is going on there,” I thought cynically. But as I got closer, I saw they were praying. I could have driven straight into a parked car. I was so ashamed. I prayed out loud, “Father, forgive me for assuming You’re not here.” God had yanked my chin, and it hurt.

I saw similar instances of my Father’s under-the-radar Kingdom work when I visited the Kibera slums while in Kenya for a conference on child sponsorship. Amidst this overcrowded community, where sorrow and despair are as visible as the makeshift septic system, God’s Kingdom was discernible. The results of people serving God also were visible. People were taking care of each other. Grandmas and neighbors were looking after children orphaned by AIDS. Widows and elderly were looked after, too. The children were joyful and happy and they were being fed and taught God’s Word at the Salvation Army nursery situated in the middle of the slums.

God is at work. He is worthy to be praised. We just need to open our eyes and pay attention to those standout moments.