Spirited Debate: David Curry, President & CEO, Open Doors USA discusses the most dangerous places for Christians, and what is happening to them.
From Fox News January 11, 2017.
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Spirited Debate: David Curry, President & CEO, Open Doors USA discusses the most dangerous places for Christians, and what is happening to them.
From Fox News January 11, 2017.
In every industry, social group and sub-culture, there are dogmas and popular trends that have certain cache and are given more importance than they merit. Some people call this political correctness, others have named it “group think” or a herd mentality. Regardless, it exists, it’s real and it carries weight with all of us.
We feel social pressure when we don’t go along with the group, and fear being ostracized if we suggest that this “group think” mentality exists.
This is true in the world of professional social services; there are many commonly held dogmas that are rarely challenged and have become part of politcally correct speech.
Included in these topics are opinions on “Tent Cities”; homeless camps authorized by local municipalities to alleviate homelessness. The vast majority of opinions on tent cities seem to fall into a similar category. What you think about tent cities has become a litmus test for homeless advocacy, and anyone who speak out against them will be swimming against the current.
In spite of the fact that it is unpopular to do so, I have felt compelled for years to argue against tent cities in any way I can, because the facts and realities of these communities are completely at odds with the charitable descriptions you hear about them.
Here’s why I think Tent Cities aren’t a good solution for local communities:
1. They don’t “Scale Up”. One way to test the premise of whether a social service is useful, not enabling, and not dangerous, is to ask the question, “What if we did this on a massive scale?” Having spent seven years working in the third world, amongst some of the poorest people on earth, many millions of which were living in shanty towns (third world tent cities), I can assure you that this idea doesn’t scale.
2. They’re not Humane. Tent cities set the bar of human dignity too low. Living on the street involves exposure to the elements, danger, constant fear and near constant need for mobility. It doesn’t allow for the important nurturing, stability, safety and other key needs that humans need. Tent cities also fall woefully short of meeting these criteria.
3. Negative Social Impacts. Congregating people who are homeless together has social impacts. This is true of homeless shelters and other types of social services, but many of those impacts can be mitigated by organizations entering into enforcable social contracts with the neighborhood in which they exist. Tent cities try to maintain social contracts but the defused nature of responsibility within them affords them little leverage to enforce civil and lawful behavior. Allowing each person to be a law unto themselves results in a proliferation of drug use. Tent city advocates point to certain examples of lawful tent cities, but they are the exception, not the rule, and many of those promoted don’t pass muster under further inspection.
4. Relief Value for Political Solutions. Many cities understand that homelessness, particularly family homelessness, is a growing problem. This problem can only be solved when municipalities work together with social service providers to create programs, facilities and funding to solve the issues that lead to homelessness. Tent cities stunt the growth of these critical services because they alleviate political pressure to create meaningful solutions.
There are other temporary solutions, including increased funding of “freezing night” programs that get people into motels/hotels and rental housing during inclemate weather. This approach gets people off the street without having the negative social impacts and dangers of tent cities. Sometimes the solution to the problem makes the problem worse. This is the case with tent cities.
What do you think? Are tent cities the wave of the future? Is there a way to do a tent city that provides dignity, safety, and doesn’t stunt the growth of permanent housing, shelters and important services?
David Curry
Read all of David Curry’s blogs at http://blog.rescue-mission.org or visit the Rescue Mission at http://www.rescue-mission.org.
David Curry
In this new world, with instant broadcasting of our actions, emotions, and thoughts, it is helpful to stop and consider when the sharing of information is not helpful.
I once heard someone say,“Don’t share a problem with those who cannot be part of the answer.”
There’s wisdom in considering how the information you are sharing, whether in person or through media channels, is being directed at people who can actually help, or who are just spectators.
David Curry
The idea of benchmarking, looking at other companies and industries to see where you relate according to their level of excellence, has been around a long time but that doesn’t mean it’s grown stale. In fact, it may be more important than ever.
With the pace of change due to technological shifts happening ever faster, we need to keep our eye on where trends are headed – and there’s no better way to do this than to look at a few excellent outliers to see where you might develop and improve.
Even though I run a non-profit organization I have found it helpful to study great companies from totally other industries. Here are a few of them and what I’ve studied and examined to better our organization, or at least to build my understanding:
Apple – There are many lessons here – Their commitment to quality, retail model, genius bar, handheld checkouts, self-checkout apps, launch strategy, willingness to eliminate and simplify their product lines & products. I could go on and on.
Wall Street Journal – Their online strategy, video strategy, and content layering (print, video, analysis layer so that you can get content how you prefer it).
Coffee shops – Starbucks Roy St. Coffee model store was an inspiration for some of our classroom redesigns.
Magazines – There’s only been two magazines launched in past few years that have made any money…Monocle is one of them. I picked up so much from them on how they are using content to connect with subscribers at different levels. It’s euro-centric and not my kind of magazine generally, but it’s well done on that point.
Metropolitan Market – Every time I go into this market I’m impressed at how different they run it, present the food, and curate for the customer. It’s not your average grocery store… I wish there were more like it.
What are you learning? Who are you learning it from? If you have any great companies – big or small, that you are benchmarking pass it on so we can all learn from it.
David Curry
The greatest innovators, revolutionaries, and leaders are those that have an instinct that goes against the grain of conventional wisdom, against the numbers and the prognosticators. It was just a few years ago that Steve Jobs rolled out his idea for a new device – what is now called the Ipad – to great hollering and predictions of failure. All the numbers proved that people loved their laptop, and their phones and so there wasn’t a need for a new category. The polls all suggested no one thought they needed it. And yet…it worked.
There’s a big push to get involved with “Big Data” among non-profits, businesses and organizations. Big data has only recently been made possible through the new technologies that track individual habits, purchases, interests and trends. As such, we have more and more information by which to interact with customers, clients.
The excitement over this movement is out of proportion and overlooks the number one, and still under appreciated, fact of great leadership: You’ve got to follow your gut. Certainly there are some leaders whose instinct is remarkably bad, but even still the “human factor” – the ability to sense, understand, and respond to cultural differences and sensibilities – is the greatest advantage you have.
Data is great for measurement, it can be helpful in telling you what happened, but it cannot tell you when something has become cliché until it has already bottomed out.
Don’t be followed by this new fad, get more human – not less – and you’ll see your effectiveness rise.
David Curry
When life gets crazy, with ideas, problems and challenges popping up all over the place, I like to slow down and make a “to do list.” No matter how frenetic life gets, making a list always settles me down and helps me to begin to unwind all the various challenges on the agenda.
People, and indeed organizations, all need order to reach success and fulfillment. Over time I’ve come to define order as “a sense of control over the external elements of our life”. Putting things in order, creating systems and methods that categorized and list processes and seasons, is not often considered part of the success equation because it is either assumed or dismissed.
The more complex life and work gets the more control of the elements becomes an impossibility, yet we can function effectively not by controlling, but by bringing order to the chaos.
Here are a few simple ideas individuals and organizations can consider to work toward success:
Keep things clean: Individuals understand this instinctively, but somehow organizations tend to forget how important a clean workspace is. Keep your business, non-profit or church clean – it’s a building block to success.
Schedule your time: Many teams seem to wait for their days to fill up, and individuals as well, but fulfilled people schedule what is important. Don’t wait for your life to happen by accident, be forward thinking in how you, and your organization, will spend the next weeks and months ahead.
Write down what you’ve accomplished in your day: It’s important to celebrate what has been accomplished. Write it down, promote it, and make note that you are making progress, no matter how small.
Don’t allow clutter to take hold of your spaces: Clutter is an enemy of success. Clutter makes it harder to find what you need and it adds to the sense that you and your organization are out of control.
What are other ways order and structure benefit individuals and teams? Let me know what you think.
David Curry
It’s not uncommon for people to feel like they’re going through the motions, stuck in a rut of sameness in their relationships, job, and overall life. How can you make sure this doesn’t happen to you? Be a learner! Discovery brings reserves of energy to life so that you feel more awake, alive, and energized about the seemingly ordinary things around you. Here are a few things that are part of discovery and learning that will bring you a renewed sense of life:
Explore a new hiking trail at the park.
Go for a walk through the neighborhood.
Talking to someone you don’t know well.
Read a book.
Decide to become an expert in a new hobby.
Visit a part of the city you don’t see often.
Drive to the Mountain.
Go to a bookstore.
Bake/cook something new.
Learn a new language.
There are a multitude of things you can do to keep fresh, renewed and energized. Books have been my passport to learning and when I’ve got a great book to read I feel excited about my day and everything around me. Why? Because I’m in the process of discovery and discovery brings energy.
What are the things you enjoy or perhaps some new activities that you’ve been curious to look into? Share your ideas, I’d love to hear about it.
David Curry