[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 26 (Monday, July 7, 2008)]
[Pages 925-926]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 28, 2008

    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 8 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.
    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 2 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-Sahara Africa were receiving antiretroviral 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.''

[[Page 926]]

    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. And because of you, I'm confident that the 
progress we have made over the past 8 years will continue. Because of 
you, countless souls have been touched and lives have been healed.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on June 27 at Camp David, 
MD, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 28. The transcript was made 
available by the Office of the Press Secretary on June 27 but was 
embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of the Press 
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.