Americans who still believe in faith, family, and hard work should take heart: HUD Secretary Scott Turner has been out in the field promoting what works — faith-based, community-driven housing for vulnerable women and children. This isn’t bureaucratic virtue signaling from some Washington think tank; it’s boots-on-the-ground help in Wylie, Texas, where a local ministry turned compassion into a real recovery pipeline.
Jericho Village grew out of a pastor’s conviction and a grassroots sense of duty, not a D.C. grant-seeking playbook, and it focuses on single women, mothers, and their children who have been left behind by a culture that abandons personal responsibility. Reverend Janet Collinsworth and her team deliberately built community and social capital so women can actually rebuild their lives and return to being contributing members of society.
The program provides practical tools — financial coaching, counseling, health and workforce training — because charity that doesn’t teach independence is just a bandage. Many of the women served are survivors of abuse and trafficking, and the ministry’s holistic approach is restoring dignity while preparing graduates for work and family stability.
Secretary Turner is right to urge a partnership between HUD and faith-based groups, especially where churches sit on land that could be converted into affordable, transitional housing in Opportunity Zones. There are hundreds of thousands of faith-based organizations across America ready to serve, and using public-private cooperation to leverage that goodwill is conservative governance at its best — empowering communities rather than centralizing control in Washington.
Washington elites talk about spending; real conservatives talk about empowering people to stand on their own feet. The left’s default is to throw taxpayer dollars at problems and then claim victory while dependency grows, but what Jericho Village shows is that faith motivates sustained care, community accountability, and outcomes that taxpayers can be proud of. This is the model conservatives should push everywhere — less bureaucracy, more neighborly courage and common-sense stewardship.
Turner’s own background — a Texan with ministry roots and a record of working on Opportunity Zones and community revitalization — makes him a credible champion for this cause, and his confirmation to lead HUD was secured by the Senate on February 5, 2025. His emphasis on partnering with churches and the private sector is not merely political theater; it reflects a practical strategy to multiply limited resources and reclaim neighborhoods for working families.
Republicans who want to win back the trust of everyday Americans should point to Jericho Village as proof that conservative principles solve real problems: charity, faith, work, and family. Local leaders and lawmakers ought to cut red tape, incentivize church-led development in Opportunity Zones, and celebrate programs that produce measurable recovery and independence rather than permanent dependence.
Hardworking Americans know that when we restore hope and responsibility, lives change and communities heal. Jericho Village is a blueprint for a better, bolder conservatism — one that trusts faith and community to do what big government too often promises and fails to deliver.
