Volume 13 Number 4 | February 15, 2019 | www.citygatenetwork.org
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This issue of Street Smart is sponsored by:
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DC Forum Meetings to Start in House Chamber Just in: The first meeting for those attending Citygate Network’s 2019 DC Forum will be held on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives (where the State of the Union was just held). This is a special privilege that is only offered on a limited basis. Our host will be Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO). This year’s DC Forum will include a number of other highlights. Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will join us for a Q&A time; he is the highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. The event also provides your mission with the opportunity to connect with lawmakers and agency decision-makers. The more people from Citygate Network who are involved on Capitol Hill—talking about our collective cause and making our collective case—the better the chances missions have to continue operating in accordance with their purpose and being assured that they get the strong backing (including donor support) they need. For details and to register, please visit www.citygatenetwork.org/dcforum. By the way, we urge you to register no later than February 28 if you want our offices to arrange meetings with your elected officials and their staff members. A note about hotel rooms: There has been a surge of February registrations for this popular event. We were told this morning that are room block is full. But don’t let that stop you! We’ve checked around and learned that rooms are available nearby at the Holiday Inn, Washington-Capitol, Residence Inn Washington-DC/Capitol, Residence Inn Washington-Capitol Hill/Navy Yard as well as Homewood Suites-Navy Yard. You can walk from our meeting venue to the first two. The second two will require the assistance of Uber. They all have advance purchase, non-refundable rates that are not too much more than our Hyatt Place rate. Hyatt Place also has advance purchase rates for approximately $30 more than what was offered in our original room block. If you really get stuck, contact Lisa Miller and she can help you out. She also can let you know if anything has opened up in our block. Abuse Recovery Certificate Training Begins March 27 If you operate a ministry for women who have experienced trauma, take note: Citygate Network is excited to announce a new member service that will provide a high level of training and competence for mission program leaders. Our ministry partners at ARMS (Abuse Recovery Ministry Services) are offering their 13-week Abuse Recovery Facilitator Certificate Program to Citygate Network members at a discounted rate of $285 per person. The course will prepare participants to facilitate the nationally recognized abuse and violence recovery program called Her Journey. This exceptional training meets industry standards for working with victims of abuse and violence. Once you become a certified facilitator, you will be able to share the lessons of Her Journey in a group setting at your ministry and help victims and survivors of abuse find a path to healing. Survivors grow in the understanding of God’s love and accept their own value. With the belief that they are valuable, they make better choices that affect the life they live. Click right now onto our specially created webpage www.citygatenetwork.org/ARMStraining for complete information on this soon-to-happen educational opportunity. Department heads, who on your team could benefit from this? Citygate Network Board Meets Next Week Our full board gathers this coming Monday through Wednesday in San Antonio, Texas. Please be in prayer for the group as they make decision that affect structure, programs, operations, and personnel. Citygate Network’s Snapshot Survey Window Closing Soon Just one week remains to participate in Citygate Network’s annual Snapshot Survey. While the official survey date was Thursday, February 7, you have the flexibility to conduct the survey any single day through February 21. And you have until March 1 to tabulate and enter your results. Visit www.citygatenetwork.org/snapshot for all the details and to download the forms you need to conduct the survey. If you have questions, please email Director of Communications Brad Lewis at blewis@citygatenetwork.org. Citygate Network Webinar to Examine Giving Trends and Strategies We’ve received some excellent feedback from a recent survey asking members if their giving in 2018 is up or down over 2017, and even how it compares to several past years. We invite you to join us to examine the findings and how they might play into your overall development plans at our Development Trends and Strategies Webinar, March 6, 1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. MST. The team of presenters—which includes Citygate Network staff, ministry leaders, and development consultants—will explore what’s happening with end-of-year giving, seasonal gifts, individual donor motivations, and Millennial donor practices. You’ll learn the trends, understand what to look for in giving, and discuss the realities that will help you build development strategies that will fuel your ministry. For more information, contact Director of Education and Engagement Sam Edwards at sedwards@citygatenetwork.org.
Visit Annual Conference Webpages for Complete Program and Details
Registration for Citygate Network’s 2019 Annual Conference and Exposition continues to be strong. Make sure you and other staff members at your mission are part of this biggest event of its kind, which will be held in Palm Springs, California, June 3–6. Our conference webpages have loads of details about the event, including a complete schedule. Visit www.citygatenetwork.org/conference. Be sure to check out all the activities taking place just prior to the core conference, including the L.A./Skid Row Experience and the Exodus Exhortations early education offerings. Many are extending their stay in southern California to take advantage of these events (not to mention the warm desert weather). Be sure to register yourself and staff members prior to the March 15 rate-increase deadline to save $30 per person. Media Competition Begins March 15 Citygate Network’s 2019 Media Innovation Competition call for entries begins in one month—on March 15. This competition is your opportunity to enter your mission’s best work in the categories of annual report, general brochure, newsletter/magazine, website, PSA and extended videos, photo, logo, and social media. Awards will be presented in each category in two different budget ranges. There is no charge to enter the competition, which is judged by independent professionals working in the fields of the competition’s categories. Awards will be announced at Citygate Network’s Annual Conference and Exposition in Palm Springs. Watch upcoming issues of Street Smart, as well as emailed information from Director of Communications Brad Lewis, for all the details on how to enter. Ripple Effect Continues with an Event in April Citygate Network’s Ripple Effect board acceleration program is preparing for its first cohort of the year to kick off with an event in the Los Angeles, California, area April 11–12. Our desire, as implied by the name, is that this nine-month program will grow in concentric circles and wash over all current board members of each participating organization. Moreover, we want the program to provide a permanent framework for board excellence that will strongly influence each organization’s future board members. To learn more about the program, contact Ripple Effect Program Director Ed Morgan at ed@inspirationalleadership.com or (917) 576-6604. Forms and additional information will be available soon. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Director of Communications Brad Lewis at blewis@citygatenetwork.org.
Looking Down the Street…
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San Diego Repeals Law Punishing Homeless People A decision this week by the San Diego City Council will stop punishing people for living in their vehicles. Advocates hope other cities will follow the lead and seek more constructive policies on homelessness. According to an article in USA Today, laws that make it illegal for people to live in vehicles wrongfully penalize people who cannot afford housing or meet their needs at traditional emergency shelter services. Out of 187 cities surveyed in 2016 by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, 39 percent prohibited people from living in vehicles. The latest report showed such laws had increased since 2006, leading cities to ticket people for violations, as well as impounding their vehicles. Group Provides Free Tattoo Removals to Survivors of Sex Trafficking Atlanta is ranked one of the highest U.S. cities in terms of trafficking and prostitution. The lucky few who can escape the lifestyle not only have to live with the with the psychological scars but physical ones as well. Many survivors of sex trafficking are “marked” with crude and unwanted tattoos that indicate ownership to their pimps. That’s where Atlanta Redemption Ink comes to the rescue. According to a report by 11Alive News, since the summer of 2017, Atlanta Redemption Ink has been providing survivors of sexual exploitation, abuse, and gang violence the opportunity to erase some of those scars left by that trauma through free tattoo removal. So far, 275 people have applied to the program. Food Program Helps Food Insecure Students Each week, as many as 800 students access the food pantry at Sacramento City College, according to the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. Advocates say there is a growing number of students needing extra help putting good, nutritious food on the table. Help is available for students and anyone else in need through the CalFresh program. CalFresh is the federal food program for SNAP in California. According to a report by KCRA3, the program looks at income guidelines and number of people in the family to assess who qualifies. People can get between $16 and $150 to help out with monthly food allowance based on number of people in the household. The program organizers say that by meeting with students face-to-face at outreach events, they hope to break down the stigma of food assistance programs and show participants they are not alone in the need for extra help. |
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 Teen Pot Smoking Raises Risk of Depression in Adulthood Teen use of marijuana may raise the risk of major depression and suicidal thoughts later in life, a new study suggests. Researchers found that cannabis use during the teenage years was associated with a nearly 40 percent bump in the risk of depression and a 50 percent increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts in adulthood, according to the study, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. According to a report by NBC News, although the increased risk was only moderate, given the large number of adolescents who smoke cannabis, the risk in the population becomes large. About 7 percent of depression is probably linked to the use of cannabis in adolescence, which translates into more than 400,000 cases. Nonprofits Benefit the U.S. Economy The main goal of most nonprofits is helping people in need, but the sector itself has grown to the point that it’s also providing a valuable service to the U.S. economy. Overall, the nonprofit sector provides roughly 10 percent of all private jobs in the U.S., employing more than 12 million people. According to a report by Fast Company, the nonprofit employment growth rate over the last decade rose roughly 16 percent compared to just 4 percent among for-profit providers offering similar services. Among for-profits, nearly all of that growth happened over the last five years, turning around a decade in which these jobs were typically declining. Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies director Lester Salamon, who coauthored the report, thinks this shift may be happening because companies can solicit investment instead of relying on grants, which lets them move quickly as the needs for some services change. Study Reveals Untreated Mental Health Conditions in Kids and Teens Nearly 1 in 7 children and teens in the U.S. has a mental health condition, and nearly half go untreated, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. As described in a report by CNN, researchers analyzed data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationwide survey administered to parents of children and teens. Of the 46.6 million children ages 6 through 18 whose parents completed the survey, 7.7 million had at least one mental health condition— such as depression, anxiety, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder—and only half received treatment or counseling from a mental health provider in the 12 months prior to the survey.
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The Toughest Love
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Valentine’s Day, also known as the “day of love,” is one of the most widely celebrated holidays. It’s the day when we’re supposed to tell those near and dear to us how much we cherish them. Everyone wants and needs to feel loved.
Love is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that Jesus summarized the entire Ten Commandments using only love:
“Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love others as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31).
“[Jesus said,] I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other” (John 13:34).
When it comes to loving those closest to us, we should, of course, tell them that we love them—and often. However, in reality, doing so requires very little faith on our part because chances are our love will be returned to us in equal measure.
Once we’ve experienced the true nature of God’s unending and unconditional love, the only reasonable response is to share that love with others who have not yet experienced it. But this is where Jesus asks us to lean on our faith. He gave another commandment that often seems illogical and, at times, impossible: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). We are called to love the unlovable.
This selfless love He’s describing can only be expressed with the supernatural help of the Holy Spirit. When we put aside our emotions and trust the healing power of the Holy Spirit to help us and work through us for the benefit of those on the receiving end, we become a witness of God’s transforming love and power.
Sure, Valentine’s Day is over. But why not extend the idea? In addition to telling your special someone how much they mean to you, maybe we should also reach out to those who wouldn’t normally come to mind and let them know they are loved as well.
Devotional by Mark Henderson; used with permission of used with permission of Daily Devotionals, shortdailydevotions.com.
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All Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, unless otherwise noted. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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