THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 9, 1995 TAG: 9509090312
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
On a stage where generations of fashion models once twirled and preened, a half-dozen youngsters are practicing for an upcoming performance about the history of Youth Corporation Inc./-Youth Outreach Services.
``I've come to teach about teenage pregnancy and welfare reform,'' says a youngster who is playing the role of Liz Harris Charity, the motivational spirit behind this unusual - and suddenly controversial - program housed in the cavernous shell of what was the bustling downtown Thalhimers store.
``You're going to teach boys to use condoms?'' continues the dialogue.
``No,'' replies the Charity character, ``you and the boys are going to be so busy, you're not going to have time to think about condoms.''
``. . . You must be a Christian,'' notes one of the teens.
``Yes,'' comes the response. As the performers slap hands, the character adds: ``High fives for Jesus.''
Precisely how much homage is being paid Jesus is at the crux of controversy that erupted last week after Style Weekly, a Richmond alternative newspaper, reported that the group was using a $69,000 grant awarded by Gov. George F. Allen to teach Christian values.
Citing constitutional concerns over the separation of church and state, the American Civil Liberties Union has requested a state investigation into use of the funds.
Late last week, Attorney General James S. Gilmore III and Secretary of Public Safety Jerry Kilgore, whose office administers the grant money, agreed to look into the complaint.
The challenge comes at a time when the Allen administration is urging churches to become active in a massive welfare overhaul. It may offer an early test of the difficulty of including groups with religious links in the mix of those getting state funds.
On Monday and Tuesday, Allen has scheduled a statewide forum for religious and community leaders in which part of the stated purpose is to describe sources of funding and how to apply for grants.
Although officials said they don't know the exact size of the pool, some state funds eventually will be available for community groups with innovative programs directed at putting welfare recipients to work.
In a statement, YCI/YOS officials called the charge that they are using government funds for religious purposes ``untrue and unfounded.'' But in interviews they do not deny that Christianity is an important component of their underlying philosophy.
``It should be stated to people coming in that this is based a lot on Christianity,'' said Audrey Phillips, a 16-year-old high school student helping out with the program last week.
``The government has offered program after program (for welfare recipients and at-risk youth) that have not worked,'' echoed Harris, a seemingly irrepressible former disk jockey and accountant who conceived and patched together over the past six years what she calls a program of ``entrepreneurial training and welfare reform recovery.''
``To fill their emptiness, they have to have something on the inside.''
Promotional literature for ``Jesus Ministries,'' a nondenominational ministry that Harris heads and that shares the Thalhimers space on Sundays, is evident throughout the organization's fifth-floor work space, as well as the makeshift first-floor shop where the wares of youngsters - from handmade pillows to used baseball cards - fill space once occupied by jewelry and cosmetic counters.
But in a statement issued Friday by the group, spokesman E. Samuel Tanguma said ``prayer or any other religious activity is not a mandatory part of daily activity or any YOS school program.''
Church groups occasionally join the group for ``praise singing and a prayer lunch hour,'' but that occurs only on Wednesdays, she said. And such activities are not mandatory, she said.
Kilgore and Deputy Attorney General William H. Hurd, who reviewed the group's grant application last week, concurred that there is no mention of religion in its stated goals.
The $69,000 grant is part of a $2million discretionary pool allotted by the governor under the federal Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act.
Hurd said that only after interviews with Harris and others, expected to take place this week, can his office say whether any line has been improperly crossed.
``Clearly taxpayer funds cannot be used to buy communion wafers,'' he said.
But whether any activity falls on one side or the other of guidelines established by the courts ``is very fact-sensitive,'' he said.
Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia ACLU, said his organization is not opposed to any organization's pursuing religious goals, ``but not with funding from the government.''
The program described in YCI/YOS literature calls for schools of urban planning, education, business and the arts. Academics and entrepreneurial training are to be offered to welfare recipients, ex-offenders and young people, it says.
Harris has worked on her dream since 1989, gaining support along the way from some substantial members of the Richmond community.
The brightest day of all came last February, when Gov. Allen and a security contingent trooped down from the Capitol to announce the $69,000 grant. Allen, who had not met Harris before that day, praised the program as an example of community action against welfare dependency. Harris thanked God for the governor's involvement.
Since then Harris has amassed a staff of nine, including her husband, and has opened the doors to 22 youths and three welfare recipients.
``In order to put a program like this together, it had to come from a higher source,'' she said last week. ``It didn't come from Liz. All I'm doing is sharing this with other people.'' ILLUSTRATION: JAY PAUL photo
Teens and leaders of Youth Corporation Inc./Youth Outreach Services
pray in the old Thalhimers building in Richmond. The group has
received a funding grant from Gov. George F. Allen, raising
questions about a mix of church and state.
by CNB