The impact of the faith-based and community initiative on rural mental health care.
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- K. Jay Poole, Assistant Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: President George W. Bush established the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2001 and
eventually, by executive order, set a precedent for federal agencies to revise their policies to allow faith-based
organizations to apply for federal grants. This initiative made over three billion dollars available to organizations
that had heretofore been prohibited from accessing public funds due to their religious affiliation. As the initiative
has developed, there seems to be a predominance of evangelical and fundamentalist Christian organizations involved
in the projects that public funds support including services to those with mental illness. Evangelical and
fundamental Christian ideology includes strong beliefs that people?s problems are often the result of moral failure
and the solution to many of life?s problems lies in accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Viewing mental
illness as moral failure has damaging implications for people with mental illness and for the public?s understanding
of mental illness. Additionally, the faith-based initiative is grounded in the principles of privatization, thus shifting
services to those with mental illness into the private sector. As services are privatized, the fragile system of public
mental health care in rural areas is often diminished or eliminated. Research shows that mental health professionals
have a long history of practicing largely in urban areas, thus reducing the likelihood that private providers will serve
rural areas. If, through the faith-based initiative, care for the mentally ill in rural areas is left to religion-based
organizations, many people who have very complex biologically and environmentally based disorders may be left
with limited, non-existent, or potentially harmful care. This paper examines some of the complex questions and
issues raised by the faith-based and community initiative as related to mental health care.
The impact of the faith-based and community initiative on rural mental health care.
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Language: English
- Date: 2008
- Keywords
- Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, mental health care, rural communities, faith-based initiatives, christian ideology, mental illness