Chapter 4 interested me because social service is an area of the nonprofit sector that I could definitely see myself working in. I was very aware that the government provides the majority of social service nonprofit revenue.
Domestic violence awareness/prevention in the social service is a very interesting to me, because it is such a hidden act, often going for years, or even forever, unnoticed, and so there was little if no government and corporate support at first.
I think we can see this in a lot of aspects of social service, such as support for victims of assault because of their sexual orientation. I don't know of any groups that have government or corporate funding for people who have been the subject of homophobia because it is such a controversial subject.
Also, it seems as though a lot of the problems we are facing today regarding problems with social service organizations stems from lack of government support in more recent presidential administrations, which in my opinion is negative. The government has been able in the past to give a lot of money to organizations that are deserving, and this is a tremendous help because the organizations are usually better than the government of making the money work towards the service they are providing to the republic.
I liked the St. Vincent de Paul article (not only because I am a thrift store junky) but because it was pleasing to read about how successful the organization has been in light of the economic recession. Through selling unwanted items, St VdP has been able to provide affordable housing for so many people in Lane County that would otherwise be unable to live in such a nice place.
However, in the Louisiana Power Bill Assistance article, I was not sure if I agreed that paying low income people's power bills was a good idea, because while it may stimulate the economy, we do not know where the money is coming from. However, I don't think I have a full grasp on this issue.
The article regarding urban development in Washington, DC was a good read for me because I am very interested in the subject of making areas for those less fortunate to live where they can get everything they need within a few blocks, which can help them elevate their situations.
I was the development director at Womenspace, and I can thankfully say that the government is now on board with supporting prevention and intervention in this field. Good comments!
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that there are so many social service nonprofits receiving government money because I think there are more people who accept that these are real problems. In the past, like you said, domestic violence was accepted. If the woman got beaten or abused in some way, well, it was her fault for not doing something correctly. Now there are groups who help people with sexual assault, domestic violence, drug problems, psychological problems etc. They aren't just being swept under the rug or being blamed on the victim because "they brought it upon themselves." While it may be hidden from the public view, I feel like there are now groups who are willing to help unlike a few decades ago.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI wasn't actually aware that the government supplied the majority of money that supports nonprofits.
I definitely agree that nonprofits are more able to specialize and help communities in need and I think it's sad that that is where government cuts are being made. We need to re-prioritize our money in this country.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I totally agree with you that nonprofits are far more creative and focussed on making their funding work in terms of the services they provide. The more I read, the more I am thankful that nonprofits are providing the majority of social services to our citizens.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteThe government does give grant money to programs for LGBTQ folks. Try searching grants.gov just to get an idea. The topics might not be for "homosexuality" per se, but I found four on the federal site for Aids/HIV, bullying and youth suicide that were related.