The Difference that 'Faith' Makes: Faith-based Organisations and the Provision of Services for Homeless People

向无家可归者和赤贫者提供服务是宗教团体寻求为社会福利作出贡献的最古老的手段之一，即使在英国福利国家建立之后，基于信仰的组织仍在无家可归部门保持着重要的存在。最近，非营利组织和更广泛的志愿部门的作用发生了阶段性变化，使他们在为无家可归者和其他弱势群体提供公共资助的服务方面发挥着越来越重要的作用。虽然有人对这些事态发展对慈善机构独立性的影响表示关切，但对非政府组织的具体影响尚未得到明确关注。更重要的是，还没有系统地分析信仰对服务用户的体验和结果的“影响”。鉴于政府对FBO参与社会政策的态度越来越欢迎，这是一个越来越有针对性的知识差距。该项目寻求通过探索三种查询途径来纠正现有知识库中的这些不足。首先，它将确定为无家可归者提供服务的非营利组织(具有广泛的宗教从属关系)和世俗(志愿)机构的道德框架之间的异同，并探讨这些机构如何塑造“实地”干预的类型和性质。其次，它将考虑为FBO提供的无家可归服务治理(“专业化”)的变化带来的影响，这可能对他们与世俗(和其他FBO)提供者的关系产生的影响，以及对FBO在该部门未来角色的任何影响。第三，也是关键的一点，它将特别关注信仰对服务用户的体验和结果的影响，重点关注他们对基于信仰或世俗方法的偏好。研究方法将包括对国际文献和英国服务数据库的审查，以澄清非政府组织在回应弱势群体，特别是无家可归者的福利需求方面所扮演的角色。然后，将与国家非政府组织的代表进行面谈，以扩大从文献/数据库搜索中获得的信息，特别是调查不同信仰群体对无家可归问题的非正式反应的程度和类型。研究的主要阶段将包括三个领域的密集案例研究：一个伦敦区和两个大都市。在深入访问本地的主要资料提供者后，我们会在每个地区选取六项服务(四个家庭服务处和两个非宗教服务提供者)进行深入分析，包括审阅他们的书面文件、深入访问服务经理、前线工作人员(包括受薪和义工)的焦点小组，以及服务使用者的焦点小组。这项研究对中央政府部门为弱势社群制订政策，对福利办事处和世俗志愿组织，特别是在无家可归方面，以及对福利重整、贫穷、社会公义和信仰/宗教有兴趣的学者，都有实用价值。

The provision of services to homeless and destitute people is one of the longest-standing means by which faith communities have sought to contribute to the welfare of society, and Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) retained a significant presence in the homelessness sector even after the establishment of the British welfare state. Recently, there has been a step-change in the role of FBOs, and the wider voluntary sector, such that they are playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of publicly-funded services for homeless people and other vulnerable groups. While concern has been expressed regarding the impact of these developments on the independence of charities, the specific implications for FBOs have not as yet been given explicit attention. Even more importantly, there has been no systematic analysis of the 'difference that faith makes' to the experiences of, and outcomes for, service users. This is a knowledge gap of growing pertinence given the Government's increasingly welcoming attitude to FBO involvement in social policy. The project seeks to redress these deficits in the existing knowledge base by exploring three avenues of enquiry. First, it will identify similarities and differences between the moral frameworks of FBOs (with a wide range of religious affiliations) and secular (voluntary) agencies offering services to homeless people, and explore how these shape the type and nature of interventions 'on the ground'. Second, it will consider the ramifications of the changing governance ('professionalisation') of homelessness services for FBOs, the impacts this might have on their relationships with secular (and other FBO) providers, and any implications for the future role of FBOs in the sector. Third, and crucially, it will pay particular attention to 'the difference that faith makes' to the experiences of, and outcomes for, service users / focussing on their preferences for either faith-based or secular approaches.Methods employed in the study will include a review of international literature and British service databases to clarify the role of FBOs in responding to the welfare needs of vulnerable groups, particularly those who are homeless. Interviews will then be conducted with representatives of national FBOs to amplify the information derived from the literature/database searches, and in particular to investigate different faith groups' level and type of informal response to homelessness. The main phase of the research will comprise intensive case studies in three areas: one London Borough and two metropolitan cities. After in-depth interviews with key local informants, six services in each area (four FBO and two secular providers) will be selected for intensive analysis, including a review of their written documentation, in-depth interviews with service managers, focus groups with frontline staff (both paid and volunteer), and focus groups with service users.The research is designed to be of practical value to central government departments devising policies for vulnerable groups; to FBO and secular voluntary organisations, particularly in the homelessness field; and to academics with an interest in welfare restructuring, poverty, social justice, and faith/religion.