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President's Radio Address
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For Immediate Release June 28, 2008

President's Radio Address

˙˙President's Radio Address
˙˙Audio ˙˙En Espa¤ol


THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.

This week, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
held a conference to highlight the work being done by our Nation's armies
of compassion, with help from the Federal government. This conference
demonstrated the remarkable difference these groups have made over the past
eight years.

When I first came to office, I was troubled to see many of our citizens'
greatest needs going unmet. Too many addicts walked the rough road to
recovery alone. Too many prisoners had the desire for reform but no one to
show them the way. Across our country, the hungry, homeless, and sick
begged for deliverance -- and too many heard only silence in reply.

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˙ The tragedy was that there were good men and women across America who had
the desire to help but not the resources. Because many of them worked with
small charities, they were overlooked by Washington as potential partners
in service. And because many of them belonged to faith-based organizations,
they were often barred from receiving support from the Federal government.

So I set about to change this with a new approach called "compassionate
conservatism." This approach was compassionate, because it was rooted in a
timeless truth: that we ought to love our neighbors as we'd like to be
loved ourselves. And this approach was conservative, because it recognized
the limits of government: that bureaucracies can put money in people's
hands, but they cannot put hope in people's hearts.

Putting hope in people's hearts is the mission of our Nation's faith-based
and community groups, so my Administration decided to treat them as trusted
partners. We held these groups to high standards and insisted on
demonstrable results. And they have delivered on those expectations.

Through their partnerships with the government, these organizations have
helped reduce the number of chronically homeless by nearly 12 percent --
getting more than 20,000 Americans off the streets. They have helped match
nearly 90,000 children of prisoners with adult mentors. And they have
helped provide services such as job placement for thousands of former
inmates.

Faith-based and community groups have also had a powerful impact overseas.
In Africa, they have participated in our Malaria Initiative. In just over
two years, this effort has reached more than 25 million people -- and
according to new data, malaria rates are dropping dramatically in many
parts of that continent.

These groups have also been a vital part of the Emergency Plan for AIDS
relief. When we launched this program in 2003, about 50,000 people in
Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Today, that number is nearly 1.7 million.

Behind each of these statistics, there are stories of people whose lives
have been changed by the kindness of faith-based and community
organizations. One such person is Ramie Siler. Ramie was once lost to
substance abuse, recidivism, and depression. Even when she tried to get
clean for her daughter's high school graduation, Ramie couldn't break free
from her addiction. Then she found a faith-based group called The Next
Door. At The Next Door, Ramie met people who stood by her throughout her
difficult recovery. They gave her a second chance to become a productive
citizen and good mother. Today, Ramie is reunited with her daughter. She
now helps other women as the Next Door case manager. When Ramie describes
her turnaround, she uses the words of Saint Paul: "Old things have passed
away; behold, all things are becoming new."

I'm grateful to every American who works to create this spirit of hope.
Because of you, our Nation has made great strides toward fulfilling the
noble goals that gave rise to the Faith-Based and Community Initiative.
Because of you, I'm confident that the progress we have made over the past
eight years will continue. Because of you, countless souls have been
touched and lives have been healed.

Thank you for listening.

END
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