Special Essay: Only with Dignity
by Amy L. Sherman, FASTEN Editorial Director The image that most haunts me from the hundreds of scenes we have witnessed from New Orleans was that of a white sheet thrown over the body of dead woman in a wheelchair outside the Convention Center. The picture evoked sympathy and anger: Could this death have been avoided? But what most sparked my tears was the woman’s undignified demise. Alone. Nameless. Cast aside like trash.
Even when we have nothing else to provide someone who is suffering, we can offer dignity. There are few things more crucial in faith-based social service.
In his important book, Saving America: Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society, Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow reports on his path-breaking client study. In it, recipients of aid rated the effectiveness and trustworthiness of their helpers. Congregations earned the best marks; government agencies the worst. On a four-point scale, clients gave congregations an average grade of 3.59 for effectiveness. And, an impressive 84 percent said that they felt they could trust the helpers at congregations “a lot.”
Such trust is won when the people served are treated with dignity. In scores of interviews with participants in faith-based programs, I have heard this: “They treated me like a person, not a number.”
Deliberateness is required in order to protect people’s dignity. In case studies of effective faith-based programs and reviews of the applications to FASTEN’s Partners on Transformation competition, I’ve observed numerous, creative ways that practitioners can intentionally respect the Imago Deo in each person they serve. Simple things, like learning people’s names and using them often, can go a long way. Providing adequate training to volunteers is also important, so that they recognize and deal with their own prejudices before serving on the frontlines.
Upcoming Training Opportunities
Attention urban youth workers in Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle: RELOAD is coming to your town within the next several weeks. Sponsored by the Urban Youth Workers Institute, RELOAD is a one-day training session designed to refresh ministry staff and volunteers through worship and practical workshops.
Thoughtfulness in program design is necessary, too. Several of our high-scoring applicants in the Partners in Transformation competition understood this. The Arkansas Rice Depot, for example, gives food-filled backpacks to schoolchildren who might not have dinner. What is noteworthy is that the food is not distributed in plastic sacks, but in “cool” backpacks. This reduces the chances of humiliation from being identified as a needy child. In Texas, the GospelWorks program creatively uses technology to accomplish something crucial: an incarcerated mom or dad talking with his/her kids. This cuts out the potential humiliation of sons or daughters having to get in a car, drive to the prison, empty out their pockets to go through security, and be watched by cameras or armed guards as they visit their parent. Simultaneously, it accomplishes (almost) the same thing as a visit--human interaction. In New Jersey, the Elijah’s Promise “Promise Jobs Culinary School” dresses their students in chef hats and white jackets, preparing them for jobs in sit-down restaurants instead of entry-level positions at fast-food joints.
Finally, treating program participants as givers and not just receivers enhances their dignity. The Scranton Road Community Development Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio offers a terrific example. Its “Digital Connectors” initiative seeks to train low-income high school students in computer technology. Students learn relevant computer skills such as MS Word, MS Publisher, MS Excel, and website design. But the program also engages these students as teachers for adults from public housing communities who wish to learn basic computer literacy skills.
Treating people with dignity may seem like something that comes naturally. Tragically, too often it is not. Faith-based groups should be the ones excelling in intentional, creative approaches to serving those in distress with the respect they deserve.
FASTEN
Sharing Knowledge, Strengthening Connections, Improving Outcomes | | | 
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For the next several months, FASTEN Webmaster Louie Storiale will be posting helpful short articles for FBOs on relevant technology issues. This month’s tip concerns Content Management Systems: Pros & Cons
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