Guest columnists
Tennisha Blout Webb died on January 11 in Durham at age 31 after a valiant struggle with heart disease. She had worked hard to raise three children 12, 9, and 8 years old as a single mother. A few months before her death, she was married. She needed one more semester to complete a degree at Fayetteville State University.
Bonnie Webb, as she was known by her friends, was a graduate of the Families First program in Durham, designed to provide congregational support to families moving from welfare to work. The program was supervised by Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA) with a contract from the Durham County Department of Social Services. Holy Cross Catholic Church supported Webb and her children with a faith team. She got a job at a local day care center where she made significant contributions to the growth and development of young lives as well as providing for her three children.
The story of this woman reflects the value of the Families First program to the lives of Durham families, congregations and the community as a whole. Her story is one of many that can be told.
In recent months, there have been reports and editorials in The Herald-Sun about an audit of the Families First program conducted by Durham County. The audit raised questions about the worth of the program. It has been suggested that it was a waste of taxpayers' money, and that this program raises questions about other contracts Durham County has with other non-profit organizations in the community.
We beg to differ! The three of us have been active in the Durham community for over 30 years each. We love this community because of the way people work together to solve our problems of poverty and racial injustice. All three of us have been involved with the Families First program. We are taxpayers who believe this program was an excellent investment.
The claim was made by the audit that the Rev. Pebbles Lindsay-Lucas, who directed the program, did not get congregations involved. None of us was ever interviewed about the involvement of the congregations we serve and neither were leaders and volunteers in other congregations who participated. Over 60 congregations and hundreds of volunteers worked to help people receiving welfare to be able to support themselves and their families. We have witnessed the incredible way lives have been transformed by Families First. It seems to us these are the things a credible audit should report to our elected officials and the public.
Pebbles Lindsay-Lucas did an amazing job training congregations, introducing clients to their congregational faith teams and offering assistance as needed through the year-long process. Her compassion was contagious. She understood the clients' needs, having moved from being a single mother on welfare to university graduate with degrees in divinity from Duke and social work from North Carolina Central University. She is a wife, mother and pastor, who models responsible living and concern for others in her community.
When other communities in North Carolina, and indeed, across the country, set up similar programs, they ask Pebbles Lindsay-Lucas to help them. In 2000, she was awarded the North Carolina Governor's Award for Outstanding Faith-Based Leadership.
We do not claim the program was perfect, but it was a good-faith effort to fight poverty by helping those who suffer from it. When working for change with those in a long-term struggle with poverty, positive outcomes are often modest. Since welfare reform began 15 years ago, people with fewer resources and assets for employment required greater investments by the community to enable changes and improvements to occur in their lives.
It has taken the concerted effort of social services, the faith community, and local businesses to get the job done. Many worked hard to make this model work, but there were those who placed obstacles in the way. For over 10 years, we tried to meet these challenges. At every step along the way, we sought to be accountable and provide the information requested.
If we are going to provide a way out of poverty, it will require all of us pulling together for outcomes that offer hope. We desperately need such cooperative efforts in our community. We are grateful to Pebbles Lindsay-Lucas for her commitment and hard work to show us the way.
When Bonnie Webb died, Holy Cross Catholic Church was at her side to care for her and for her children. This was two years after their "official" responsibilities to work with her had ended. Other congregations in Durham who were Families First participants have also stepped forward to give her a good home-going and provide resources for her children's education. Families First enabled us to make Durham a better, more humane and caring place, "a beloved community."
Joe Harvard has been pastor of First Presbyterian Church since 1980, and served as chair of the Supervisory Committee of the Families First program for 10 years.
Dan Hudgins was director of Durham County Department of Social Work for 30 years and teaches in the School of Social Work at UNC Chapel Hill. Haywood Holderness, who was pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church (1974-2006), served on the board of the Department of Social Services in Durham and was its chair from 2000 to 2002.
