Last minute airfare. Discount airfare….

My name is Antonio R. Daniels and the purpose of my letter is to inform you of what is what is believed to be a witch hunt and unfair targeting of bible-believing Christians staff at Lawrence Hall Youth services who have had prayer or bible study with clients in the LGBTQ population. Though it is unclear who is directly responsible for the attacks, it is believed that such people have turned the clients against these staff (I being one of them) and have manipulated them into giving false testimony against the said staff for “unsolicited religious activity” which has lead to their termination. The grounds for the termination were unclear but are said to also stem around the breaking of DCFS policy and Lawrence Hall Youth Services’ agency policy.

Please note DCFS Policy Rule 403.12

Section 403.12 Religion

a) the religious beliefs and rights of children shall be legally protected.

b) Each child shall be given religious instruction in his own faith, or that of his parents, unless there is written consent of the parent or guardian (if residual parental rights have been legally terminated) for the child to participate in religious instruction and to attend the facility of another faith. This shall include consent to baptism or confirmation.

LICENSING STANDARDS FOR GROUP HOMES

April 1, 1997 – P.T. 97.15

Rules 403 – (11)

c) Children shall be permitted to participate in religious services either singly or in groups.

A Little History

In 1865 the Reverend Martin van Arsdale founded Chicago Newsboys and Bootblacks Association as one of Chicago’s first shelters for homeless boys orphaned by the American Civil War. This organization would later become Lawrence Hall School for Boys. Some years later, Judge Mary Bartelme, a pioneer in the juvenile justice system and the first elected female judge in Illinois, opened her own home to troubled girls. In 1988, Lawrence Hall School for Boys and Bartelme Homes & Services merged to create Lawrence Hall Youth Services.

Lawrence Hall Youth Services has earned a reputation among youth social service providers in Illinois and with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for successfully helping and supporting LBGT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) youths who lack a family support system. The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago has awarded Lawrence Hall Youth Services a $75,000 grant to fund a LGBT Youth Support Pilot Program. This is the only formal program of its kind in Illinois and one of only a few similar programs in the country. In 2005, about 35% of young people in Lawrence Hall’s Residential Treatment Program identified themselves as LGBT. In response, Lawrence Hall launched the “Free 2 B Me” support group. “Free 2 B Me” has provided a safe and therapeutic environment where LGBT youths are free to express their struggles and become familiar with and access local groups, cultural activities and events, as well as resources and services available from the LGBT community in Chicago.

The Issue

On 08/08/08, I, Antonio R. Daniels, along with 4 of my fellow co-workers (Lincoln Morris, Jermaine Thomas, Tina Davis and Joyce Reed) were all terminated from Lawrence Hall Youth Services for praying (yes praying) for and holding bible studies with two youth who believe themselves to be Trans-gender females as well as many other clients who do not share the same belief.

The agency says that the prayer was “unsolicited religious activity” and that this was a violation of the clients rights by both DCFS standards and Lawrence Hall Youth Services’ policy and procedures i.e., service policy, client rights, diversity and exploitation. They state that a client reported that I and the 4 others did so without his (the client’s) consent which would be in direct violation. They say that the clients were or may have been manipulated by the said staff.

We understand that both clients had expressed faith in Jesus, professed to be Christian, had a prayer request for their mental states and that they would no longer have to take psychotropic medication. One even said that he knows he is a “boy” and wanted God to help him. The other expressed that he “struggled” with feelings homosexuality in the past and after being placed with the other LGBTQ clients became a trans-gender female in less than a month. Based on that information given to each of us directly by the clients we acted in prayer both with and without the clients being present. We gave both biblical and professional counsel to them as they asked.

Below is a copy of an e-mail sent to the Executive Vice President, Rick George and others letting them know that prayer would be allowed in the wellness center sent by Father David Stanford. I was forwarded this information about the prayer program by Tina Davis, a nurse at Lawrence Hall who, as said before was terminated.

From: David Stanford
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 10:23 AM
To: Rick George
Cc: Maria Glover-Stevens; Tina Davis; Orson Morrison; Dianne Fielder
Subject: Bible study times

Rick (and all):

Here is the tentative plan for Bible studies/ Spiritual reflection groups for three areas:

1 School – Monday’s at 1:30 (or after the students leave in the summer), in Ms. Lampley’s room (generally)

2 RTC – Friday’s from 12-1 pm (in the Wellness center, Medical Treatment Room consultation office). See Tina Davis (x-7909) for details. New!

3 Downtown – 5th Floor Conference Room, Thursday’s, 1-1:30 PM. See Fr. Stanford (-x7051 or 773-671-6887) New, and starting 6/5/08!

For more information, contact Fr. Stanford (as above).

Rick – if this seems OK with you and everyone, please relay this to Delinda for publication in the Communikay.

Thanks,

David Stanford

Father David Stanford holds bible study and prayer each week at the agency. He is in support of the GLBT community where we are not and supplies the children with information from a group called Soulforce who state that such behaviors are have been biblically misunderstood whereas we do not. This information has also been shared with staff that may or may not be in support of its contents. On July 31st 2008, Father Stanford lead the Lawrence Hall School graduation service at North Park College (a Christian college) in prayer before the likes of many different people of faith and backgrounds. There were no known objections. There was even a gospel music selection performed by other Lawrence Hall Staff including Tina Davis and Joyce Reed both of whom were terminated. This leads me to think that we were targeted unfairly.

The LGBTQ Services Coordinator, Kevin Pleasant is in charge of a one-man department—he is the department—that coordinates LGBTQ activities for Lawrence Hall. Through a series of seminars, the Lawrence Hall LGBTQ program aims to create a sense of community. Youths have met at career breakfasts; a get-to-know-you lunch at Wishbone; a voter registration drive; and a workshop about sexuality, spirituality and religion, along with other events. In part there have been clients and staff who were taken to these programs that were not gay and did not want to go and or did not feel comfortable.

I was personally signed up for one of these programs, a six-month training facilitated by Live Oaks where some of the staff become trainers on LGBT issues, last year because I failed to acknowledge a male as a female or by his self given female name and communicated my discomfort with what I felt to be homosexual evangelization. I had communicated that I was not interested in attending but did not feel at the time that my employment was safe and so complied with the instruction to go by both the acting unit supervisor of the LGBTQ unit (Ewen Cottage) at the time, Teresa Watts and the Director of Programming Karen Jackson. On another occasion in the summer of 2007 I went to the Wishbone Restaurant, 3300 N. Lincoln, for the get-to-know-you luncheon and was informed to bring other youth from the cottage. There were only three and two of them were straight males and were not interested in going but had no choice because that was the activity for the day. These youth felt very uncomfortable and expressed this to me personally yet I encouraged them to at least eat the food.

Nonetheless here I am terminated from this agency for as far as I know, praying with LGBT youth and having bible study in the past.

Thank you very much for your time,

Antonio R. Daniels

I can’t thank God enough for the pain and sadness I’ve been through, without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I can be Infinitely happy in Christ. (Infinitely Happy: God makes me happy, I am happy that he’s making me happy and God is happy that i’m happy, I’m happy that he is happy, and it just goes on and on in an infinite cycle of happiness)

One of my favorite phrases lately is “OH My FLIPPIN Goodness God is FLIPPIN AWESOME!!” We do have an Awesome God. And each day He shows me that anew.

I Hope that you too are Infinitely Happy.

thank you for showing Jesus to us.

Love, Sarah

I always will think about Killing myself. I always will.

but thanks for those word. i never really thought of that but now i do.

~*~Elenore~*~