On Friday, July 21, 2006 HUD participated in a workshop as part of the 2006 Black Ministry Family Convocation on the campus of Concordia College in Selma, Alabama. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod sponsored this national conference that attracted more than 250 participants. Birmingham HUD Field Office Director, Cindy Yarbrough and Field Office Director's Liaison, John Gemmill presented "HUD At A Glance," an overview of HUD's major mortgage, grant, other assistance and regulatory programs. Teresa Chappell, Region IV Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Liaison, addressed the general session.

Participants in the workshop were provided the tools and contacts needed to empower themselves and the communities they serve, accessing and utilizing a broad range of programs.

Working with the HUD Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Field Offices reach out and respond to faith-based and community organizations. President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative originated from the simple idea that our best chance to overcome a community's deepest problems is to tackle them from within, by welcoming those community partners who truly know how to change lives and entire communities.

As an active leader in the Initiative, HUD has set the standard in policy reforms that welcome organizations rooted in the community. We are leveling the playing field for these organizations, affording them the opportunity to effect an even greater change in neighborhoods across America. These policy changes have allowed faith-based and community organizations to make a unique impact in the lives of society's most vulnerable citizens, channeling America's compassion in new directions.