An update from the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, an independent research project
of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The public policy research arm of the State University of New York.

New! Miami Among Cities Making Progress to End Homelessness

Among people with the shared goal of reducing homelessness, there are differences of opinion about
how well communities around the country are addressing the problem, though many agree that progress
has been made. The rift could be seen last month on the national level, when the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development released its Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress,
showing a 30 percent reduction in the number of chronically homeless people. The total number of homeless
people – both chronic and otherwise – counted on a single night in January dropped from 754,147 in 2005 to
666,295 in 2007. Federal officials attributed the decline to an eight-year-old strategy known as “housing first,”
which made permanent shelter top priority in addressing homeless people’s needs. But some advocates for
the homeless criticized the numbers’ accuracy.

Those same differences of opinion can be seen at the local level – even as public-private partnerships make
advances in the effort to combat homelessness. In Miami, a hurricane galvanized community leaders to take a
new approach to homelessness more than 15 years ago. Before Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida in
1992, the National Coalition for the Homeless had taken the unusual step of designating Miami the “meanest
city” in America for its treatment of homeless people, which included frequent arrests for the crime of living on
the street. Now the group points to the city as a model of progress in the fight against homelessness.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

New! An Interview with Cheryl Magee and Mary Ambrose of the United Way for
Greater New Orleans Faith-Based Initiative

Cheryl Magee is the United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area’s director of Faith-Based Initiatives,
a program created in May 2007 to engage, develop and organize the work of faith-based organizations in
efforts to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Mary Ambrose is senior vice president of Community
Impact at United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area. A licensed graduate social worker with more than
13 years’ experience in social services, she has worked with the United Way for the past 10 years.

They talked to the Roundtable about the Faith-Based Initiative’s efforts to help re-build New Orleans three
years after Katrina hit shore.

Click here to read the interview.

Weekly Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community
Organization Eligibility

The grant opportunities this week for community and faith-based organizations are through programs
administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Agency for
International Development.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise, or
experience in particular foreign countries.

Click here for the grants digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Fay Arrived While Immokalee Still Waited For '05 Wilma Repairs
Naples Daily News (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8704

Churches still send help to Gulf Coast; Katrina recovery to take 10 years
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8705

So Many Journeys Home; So Many Not Yet Complete
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8706

Bush/Obama Faith-based Initiative Fundamentally Flawed
Kansas City infoZine

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8707

Under Pressure, Bills Are Paid; Charity Owed Its Students State Funds
Herald News (Passaic County, NJ)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8708

More People Seek Help to Pay Rising Utility Bills
Tulsa World (Oklahoma)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8709

Faith-Based Group Returns Challenged Funding
courier-journal.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8710

Church Leaders Attend Summit: Representatives from Faith Organizations Gather In Preparation for Disasters
Bowling Green Daily News (Kentucky)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8711

Salinas Puts Faith to Work
The Californian (Salinas, California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8712

Church Chiefs To Get Trade Lessons
San Angelo Standard-Times (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8713

Methodist Healthcare Ministries Gives $7 Million To Homeless Effort
San Antonio Business Journal

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8714

Disaster Preparation for Churches
Tulsa Beacon

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8715

Bishop To Feds-- End Mass Immigration Raids
USA Today

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8716

Forging An Alliance In Times Of Disaster
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8717

Bush Plan Would Blunt State Birth Control Law
SFGate.com (California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8718

Affordable Housing For Seniors Opens; Hollygrove Complex Has 30 Apartments
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8719

Teachers Sought For State's New Healthy Marriage Initiative
Jacksonville Daily Progress (Texas)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8720

Gov. Jindal Won't Renew Anti-Discrimination Order
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8721

Head Of White House Faith- Based Office Resigns
Religion News Service

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8722

Urban Ministry Offered At NU
Buffalo News (New York)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8723

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 8/26/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_8_26_08.cfm