White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Grace Church Leaders on Impact of Faith-Based Initiative Legislation

Morning Edition: Religion Beat by Teresa Kramarz, Filed 2/20/02: While Congress debated earlier this month the so-called “faith-based initiative,” a bill which would fund religious groups that provide social services to the needy, a White Plains church with 23 years of service to the urban poor had mixed reactions on the initiative’s impact.

Grace Church Community Center of White Plains is the largest non-profit social service organization in Westchester County. Reverend Joseph Gilmore, pastor of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry characterizes the center as “the hot spot for any significant justice work in the county.”

Centerpiece of Support

The soup kitchen downtown serves 25,000 meals a year; the 45-bed homeless shelter for men and 18-bed shelter for women and children operate at full capacity, the daycare center runs year round and transitional housing services for discriminated AIDS patients continue to expand, said the Executive Director, Joseph D’Ambrosio. The center also provides home health care services to the elderly and socialization programs for the mentally disabled.

Mr. D’Ambrosio explains that to do this they rely on a mix of individual and corporate funding, and three county government contracts. But the popular soup kitchen program and daycare are run at a loss, while the other programs operate on thin financial margins. “We are always in crisis,” he said.

A Candidate for Federal Aid?

This community center is exactly the kind of effort that the faith-based initiative would support, according to the legislative bill. But Mr. D’Ambrosio was skeptical about seeing any impact from the initiative in his center: “I am afraid that the politics of it will keep the money away from us, the local churches.”

"Large churches and charities with political connections will get the money before we do, " he said.

Services Needed Whether There is Funding or Not

Maryfaith Fortunate, director of the Daycare Program, said she liked hearing about Bush’s initiative because so many of the services to the poor in communities like White Plains come from churches:

“When all is said and done, when the Department of Social Services says they are coming through or they are canceling funding, the church is still left with a whole bunch of people who need care,” she said.

However, she warned that she would only support this initiative if it did not become an excuse to undercut any existing federal funding.

Hope for therpeutic programs, too.

Theresa Dicosmo, deputy director of the men’s shelter, Open Arms, hoped the initiative would help programs like hers that deal with individuals suffering from substance abuse and mental illness:

“President Bush said he wants to help people who suffer from addictions (through this initiative). That jumped out at me,” she said, “They are illnesses that people don’t like to talk about.”

Shelved In 2001.

When the White House first introduced the initiative last year, it created widespread controversy over the impact that it would have on the separation of church and state and on potential hiring discrimination by religious organizations that would look to employ people of their own faith. The proposal did not make it out of Congress.

Then Sept. 11 changed all the priorities and the government concentrated on the immediate security threats posed by the World Trade Center attacks.

In play once more.

Last week, Congress reached agreement with the White House on the bill that would open federal funding to religious charities.

Mr. D’Ambrosio and program staff did not feel that federal funding of religious organizations was controversial.

"We should have the same systems of checks and balances as anyone else receiving federal grants would have," said Ms. Dicosmo. "There is no imposition on anyone’s faith here, nor do we do not hire anyone on the basis of religious background."

Grace serves all.

The men’s shelter is not only run by experienced professionals but it is also staffed by men who have graduated from the program and come from all walks of life, some are religious and some are not, explained Ms. Dicosmo.

Her program has a particularly diverse history since it was co-founded with “SHORE”, a group of 40 local churches and synagogues that partner with businesses and civic groups to combat homelessness.

“Our center is about a mission, rather than a religion,” said Ms. Fortunate. “It is not about how to become an Episcopalian. In fact, we work with volunteers from many different area churches and synagogues.”

Under the banner An Oasis for Hope for the Needy,Grace Church Community Center’s literature points out that it has distinguished itself by providing direct comprehensive services and support under one agency roof to individuals and families with multiple problems for over 20 years.


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