By Suzanne Jeffrey

“My first teaching job was at Ridgecrest Elementary School in Pinellas County, Fla. This was a low income, destitute area. There was no government help, no adequate sewer system and terrible housing conditions. Some of the families lived in boxcars...that’s how bad it was. The school closed several days a year because the sewage seeped up through the grounds around the school. I knew I couldn’t teach these children anything the way things were. The community was going to have to get together and do something to improve the conditions.” That was Eugene H. Bowens in 1961. In 18 years his philosophy hasn’t changed. Today, as President of Interfaith, Inc., a nonprofit housing organization for low and moderate income families, Bowens is continually striving to give powerless people a sense of power -- to help them control their own destinies.

Interfaith was born December 5, 1967. It depends primarily on organized religion for its support. Its members include 47 churches representing nine denominations. The Unitarian Universalist Church provided the impetus to get it off the ground. One of its founders was the Reverend Monsignor Noel C. Burtenshaw, Director of Communications for the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta, who was then Chancellor of the Archdiocese. Now the Archdiocese and seven Catholic churches are counted among its members. The churches include the Church of St. Jude, Corpus Christi, Holy Cross, St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph, St. Thomas the Apostle, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Membership dues are $150 per year for individual or institutional members and $500 for businesses. “This is truly an ecumenical effort. One church can’t do it all. We’re always looking for additional members,” declares Bowens.

Bowens has been with Interfaith for eight of its eleven years. Under his guidance, Interfaith has developed 193 units in three apartment communities: McLendon Gardens, 90 units; Boynton Village, 43 units, and Capital Vanira, 60 units. Construction is scheduled to begin before the end of this year on 100 units of housing in Douglasville. About 400 units at Oglethorpe Apartments are being rehabilitated.

Eugene Bowens is a dreamer rooted in reality. He looks for the day when Interfaith has enough staff personnel to meet the needs of its residents. He anticipates the time when every dollar received by the social services program will go directly to the people. Now he estimates 50 cents of each dollar is spent on administrative overhead.

The Catholic Archdiocese has offered to fund one-third of a three year salary for a social services coordinator, along with St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church (one-third), the Episcopal Diocese (one-sixth) and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (one-sixth). “We hope to have the new coordinator on board before the first of next month,” says Bowens.

Social Services is one of five active standing committees or “strategy areas” as Bowens calls them that work together to achieve Interfaith goals. Resources made available through the churches are tapped for a host of programs at the three project sites: counseling, whether for family or individual; clothing and food banks; a loan/grant program for financial assistance, and a summer program sponsored by the city of Atlanta offering social, educational and recreational opportunities as well as employment.

The other four “strategy areas” are as follows:

Advocacy: Interfaith represents the interest of low and moderate income families before both the public and private sectors. The advocacy committee monitors and researches the housing activities and programs of government. This group keeps member organizations informed of housing events, recommending that positions be taken when they are warranted.

Development and Rehabilitation: The sites must be found; the property acquired and rezoned if necessary; architects, builders, mortgage firms located; proposals packaged; actual development and rehabilitation supervised; final closings completed. This is the work of the development and rehab committee.

Management: This committee must develop, implement, monitor and oversee the management operations and programs of all interfaith projects. Chairman of Management is Rev. Monsignor Jerry Hardy.

Support: In addition to securing money from organizations and individuals, the support must get long-term capital for new developments and organize general information and consciousness raising activities.

Bowens, a 40 year-old father of three, believes in the dignity of mankind.

“Need is the greatest problem at Interfaith. People with public housing needs just don’t disappear. Think about how many families are living in substandard housing. Georgia alone could use 300,000 units of public housing. Think about the attitudes of the ‘haves’ toward the ‘have-nots.’ It doesn’t make good sense to have several hundred low income families in one complex. Many fears can be overcome by soliciting neighborhood input, by good, effective, solid planning. Think about the bureaucracy involved in using federal programs. We must ask ourselves...Are our goals always viable and meaningful? We must try to encourage the public and religious communities to implement programs that are going to address those needs,” reflects Bowens.

He is urging a heavy letter writing campaign to congressmen in the wake of an announcement of a housing coalition which is being formed to try to get more housing monies into the 1980 Federal budget.