CHURCH WELFARE PROGRAM HELPS PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
See Source 9
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Americans are struggling with stagnant wages, rising debts, and increased expenses during these tough economic times. What happens when a corporate executive loses a job or a family simply can't make ends meet to put food on the table? What about the refugee who needs to learn English to get a job or the homeless man who wants to get off the streets before winter sets in?
I absolutely love our program. It has been working for many years and it is supposed to be a "temporary" solution. The program encourages the members to learn new skills if needed and has access to jobs they can apply for. Volunteers run the storehouses to fill food orders and when we had to have help a few years back, they encouraged us to go and volunteer to help fill others orders. I think it helps keep a bit of respect while things are down and out and your getting back on your feet. The most important thing though is we need to remember it is a temporary means and meant to help members help themselves.
That is the basic difference between our welfare program and most government programs. The Church is willing to help those in need but they are expected to do as much for themselves as possible. If they cannot do so then they are expected to go to family first. The Church encourages self-sufficiency and provides the instruction so people can become self-sufficient. Government programs are often nothing more than a handout that encourages generational dependency.
That is such a great term: generational dependency. I have seen this so much just in the people I know. It seems to suck the life right out of them and any self-respect they have with it.
The saddest thing I have seen yet is a family that sent their children (ages 12 and 10) door to door looking for money "for food." Then when given some "food" they turned it down. The parents were wanting to buy other things with it. Do they have to send their kids? What is that teaching them? I love that we are asked to go to our families for help first.
When I was working for OCS there was a family where the dad would make his kids shoplift for things he could sell. He would also make them steal basics like food and deodorant. The kids finally ratted him out to their maternal grandmother. It was so sad. They received a welfare check but he spent that on who knows what, not what it was meant for.
Self-reliance at heart of LDS Church and other helping programs
Thursday afternoon on Welfare Square, Aaron Roberts was working at Deseret Industries, sorting items that had been donated. It's not his dream job; he hopes to go to college for some computer tech training. But it's filling a hole in his life in an economy where jobs are hard to come by. Ref. Source 1
Food-stamp program use increasing in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY - Kimberley Burke pauses at the door of the emergency food pantry, taking a deep breath before she timidly steps inside. The seconds tick by uncomfortably as she stands - high-heeled boots turned in, fingers laced tightly together - warily scanning the room. She's not quite sure how this welfare thing works. Ref. Source 6?
I believe that with the amount of tithing our members pay, accessing to food and other basic necessities in times of need shouldn't be an struggle you know what am I saying? Sometimes Bishops ask the members to ask the government for help first and I wonder why they have to do that?