Teaching kids to read has primarily been the job of the public schools, but slow learners often get left behind. Mattleman said many children come from homes where reading is an alien activity - the only book is the Bible or the phone directory, with no magazines or newspapers in sight. The theory advanced by Pew and by DiIulio is that religious institutions are the most trusted places in poor neighborhoods - often the last safe space parents are willing to send their children. Faith communities are present where people who need the most help are. It's the trust factor, and we think that is absolutely vital.
People go to the churches because they are there.
Indeed, virtually every religious group that's opened a YET center already supports a roster of community and youth programs, some with government dollars and many with only modest religious connection. The Rev. Kevin Porter, at Calvin Presbyterian, 60th and Master Streets, has no problem with that. St. Thomas, at 17th and Morris, is a beehive of community programs, some primed with federal and state dollars. All its YET kids are St. Thomas students, but that doesn't mean all Catholic. This is like a bastion of the neighborhood.