Hope for Northwest Georgia Spotlight: Rossville Georgia

Just outside of Chattanooga Tennessee, Rossville has seen a lot of change since its foundation in the early 1800s. Although the city was not incorporated until 1905, it was known as Poplar Springs going back 120 year previous to that date. Rossville was named for John Ross, the man who established a Ferry across the Tennessee River as well as the Trading Post that would one day become the city of Chattanooga. In 1838, settlers began to replace Rossville's previous residents, the Cherokee Indians who had just vacated the area via the Trail of Tears.

In 1905, Peerless Woolen Mills was established in the newly incorporated town. This would be the first of many textile mills which would eventually turn the small town into a prosperous city. During World War Two, Rossville boomed due to Peerless being the primary manufacturer of blankets used among the armed forces. It became the largest single-unit textile mill in the world! The town was known for its nice shops as well as a dance hall across from the Peerless Mills. The Peerless plant burned down in the 1967 fire that would go down as one of the largest industrial fires in US history. The 1.5 million square foot building went down, costing 1,400 jobs and over 2 million in damages.

As happened across the United States in textile mills everywhere, drastic downsizing occurred in the mills of Rossville and the population experienced the devastating effects of rampant unemployment. While older residents of the area still reminisce on the good old days of Rossville, many younger ones struggle to keep their family afloat in the fragile climate of Rossville's main streets. Some of the old businesses still exist. Sherrill’s TV, Brody’s Jewelry, Best Jewelry, Rossville Bank, Brock Insurance, Roy’s Restaurant, and Dream Cream can still be seen with their lights on and cars in their parking lots. Stores like Hixson’s Men Store, The Jo Ann Shop, Vassey’s Men Store, Personality, and the LaDean that once made Rossville the place to shop are long gone. They have been replaced with Pawn shops and Second Hand Merchandise stores. Vacant lots are often filled with men and women selling items out of their cars on on card tables. Empty mills and factories press in from every side, an all-too-obvious reminder to residents of past glories and prosperity.

When one looks at the current statistics of Rossville, it is hard to take heart.

The estimated median household income in Rossville in 2008: $27,375

Rossville:		$27,375
Georgia:		$50,861

Concerning the population 25 years and over in Rossville:

• High school or higher: 60.7%
• Bachelor's degree or higher: 8.4%
• Graduate or professional degree: 3.1%
• Unemployed: 3.4%
• Mean travel time to work: 23.4 minutes

In May 2009 there were 41 registered sex offenders living in Rossville.
The ratio of number of residents in Rossville to the number of sex offenders is 83 to 1.

And the statistics go on from there. ...But what are we willing to do about it? Rossville was once a wonderful place to live that promised its residents prosperity and success. There were many opportunities for employment. The streets were beautiful. Are we willing to say that this is a thing of the past, never to return? In Deuteronomy 15:4, God told His people that there were to be no poor among them! In Isaiah 1:10-17, God tells His people he is tired of their meaningless sacrifices, and that He wants them to care for the poor, to take up their cause and defend them!

Finally, 1 John 3:18:

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Will you join us in loving Northwest Georgia in action and in truth?

Come Visit Us!

Join us at Hope Mondays and Fridays in November & December!

Our Professional Clothing Closet & Computer Lab will be open to the community. We would love to show you around!

Feel free to stop by to get help on resumes, interviewing, job research, or development of work-related skills. Hours for the clothing closet and computer labs are Mondays and Fridays from 9am to 3pm.

Hope to see you soon!

Things we love about Northwest Georgia

Help Hope celebrate Northwest Georgia! Stop by our offices and let us know what it is you love about Northwest Georgia.

Urgency After Reflection

This week I faced a rather difficult situation: Do I help? ...and if I walk away, did I do harm by walking away... or did I truly help?

Through various complicated events, I came in contact with a young woman who needed help. She came from an abusive past, and was living in an abusive present. It was evident that she needed to escape, but not so clear as to where she might go. Where is safe? How could she leave the past behind when she seemed to be bringing it along with her?

Even in my attempt to do right by her, it was clear that she had not left destructive patterns behind her. Yes, she was now separate from the abusive man in her life; but had she truly freed herself from her own bondage?

At times we can feel pressured to act -either by the person asking or by our on conscience- before we have a chance to stop and think. I encourage you to do just that! God has given us His wisdom so that we can do what is right -even in circumstances that are difficult and may appear to be "gray".

The following might be a good checklist to run through before responding:

• If I do not act, will this person be in physical danger?
• If I do act, must I act in the way they ask, or is there a better (more holistic) way to help?
• What are possible outcomes of my help?
  
• Could materials given be used to do harm to the person or others?
  
• How am I/am I not loving this person in my action or inaction?
• In my response, I represent myself, my church, my Savior. Did I do I good job at that?

Of course, there are about 10,000 more questions you could ask yourself... but really, with someone standing before you and asking for your help, there is great need for urgency after reflection. You should also evaluate whether the situation is a crisis or requires rehabilitation or development.

Additionally, set up boundaries for yourself before hand.

ie. I will never give money to an individual.
I will always help a woman who wants to get off of the street.
I will always offer to purchase a meal and sit with the person who asks.
I will always pray for/with an individual who asks for my assistance.

This can be helpful when you find yourself in a bind, and may assist you in making decisions that are thought out and loving instead of ones that are selfish or made out of guilt.

Jobs for Life @ Highlands Presbyterian Church

Check out these photos from our Jobs for Life class at Highlands Presbyterian Church! I had the privilege of spending last Wednesday visiting with the class.

How Can I Help?

Responding in way that does no harm

The following are three responses for three specific situations of need. It is important to
know which is appropriate –and which is not- as this is the most common reason poverty-
alleviation efforts lead to harm.

1. Relief: the urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid. This is administered
in order to reduce immediate suffering from either man-made or natural disasters.
Dynamic: Provider-receiver (provider gives assistance to the receiver)

Seldom. Immediate. Temporary.

2. Rehabilitation: seeking to restore people and/or their communities to the positive
aspects of their pre-crisis condition
Dynamic: working with (victims participate in their own recovery)

3. Development: the process of ongoing change, moving all involved, via a promoting
and empowering process (helpers and those helped) closer to being in right relationship
with God, others, self, and creation. The goal here is that those involved are better able to
fulfill their calling to glorify God by working and supporting themselves.
Dynamic: working with (all involved become more of what God created them to
be!)

Questions to ask:

1. Is there really a “crisis” at hand? If I fail to provide immediate help, will there be
serious, negative consequences?

2. To what degree is the individual personally responsible for the crisis? (use
compassion and discretion here!) Allowing people to feel some pain resulting from
irresponsibility can be some tough love -and lead to an individual seeing a need for
lasting change! The point here is not to punish, but promote healthy learning and growth.

3. Can they help themselves? If so, a handout would completely undermine their
capacity to be a steward of the resources and abilities God has already provided them!

4. To what extent has this person already been receiving help –from you or others?
How likely are they to be receiving help in the future?

What is Love?

This past Sunday, I was privileged to take part in teaching a Sunday school class at one of our Hope for Northwest participating churches, East Ridge Presbyterian Church. The class is basically a study on how we should pursue relationships with those who are hurting, needy, and oppressed. On this particular study, we were looking at what two Scripture passages have to say about working with (and loving) the poor. One of these passages was 1 Corinthians 13. Let me just stop right here and say that what I am about to share greatly effects not only the poor and those working with them, but all human relationships.

It is ridiculously hard to love someone when you are both sinners. That said, it is impossible to love someone if neither of you are a sinner. We are all fallen creatures, incapable of living a single day without sin. Our hearts are full of all sorts of things we'd rather not let anyone see ...and lets not even mention those things that come out of our mouths! Maybe it is because of the very sin in our own hearts (yes, it definitely is), but it is so easy to see the filth in the heart of someone we love and know intimately. This makes us want to turn our backs instead of turning our cheek.

I must confess that it has taken me all of 5 days to realize that I myself have failed to do the homework that I assigned in closing Sunday's class! I asked the class to read and pray through the passage, as well as pursue a relationship with someone they did not know. I did not mention (although I hoped) that this homework also included some valuable "life lessons" for those in the class- that we might all be both humbled and convicted (and in the process, changed) by reading and praying through 1 Corinthians 13.

Oops.

While reading through the passage this morning (somewhat un-prayerfully) I was slammed by the phrase "keeps no record of wrongs". ...I mean, really? How!? Relationships hurt! They burn. Sure, we "heal", but what about that scar? What does it take to remove that ugly mark? It takes Jesus. I tell you with great confidence that there is nothing in me (nothing at all) that is capable of forgetting wrongs. But Jesus -who is in me- has the power and all-capable presence to take the very worst of wrongs away.

Fear not, for He is with you , empowering and equipping you to go out into a sinful world and love people with His love -even scary strangers- far beyond our miserable capacity to do so. Trust God, and obey. And read Isaiah 58.