Novel Approach to Helping the Unemployed
A recent article published in the Christian Science Monitor depicts a novel idea on helping chronically unemployed Americans. In the article, Patrik Jonsson describes Jobs for Life.
Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Jobs for Life program helps churches and faith-based organizations provide practical job training from a spiritual perspective. The programs founder, Skip Long, is a Mennonite minister who wants to” invoke in job-seekers a deeper faith in God’s power, and ultimately themselves, in order to overcome employment obstacles…”
There are two things about this program that excite me the most. First, they do not receive nor seek any Federal funding. This gives them the freedom to provide practical job training from a spiritual perspective without the entaglements of government regulations and all that separtion of church and state stuff.
The second thing is this. They use the Bible as a resource for helping the jobless, many who are considered unemployeable, like ex-cons and ex-homers. Quoted in the article, University of Michigan economist Rebecca Blank says:
“Religion is very useful in these sorts of life-change programs, because it’s saying you’re not alone, you get a second chance, and Jesus is with you in that second chance. That’s pretty powerful when people are feeling very lonely and down and not sure they can make it”
Whether Long will be able ro reach his goal of putting 52,000 such “prospective hires” into the workplace next year remains to be seen. But I do applaud his efforts and those of others like him who are willing to put their faith into practical use. That’s what it’s all about.
Interested in learning more? Click here to read the story.
