The Drudge Report brought my attention to an Associated Press story describing how a St. Louis–area faith-based group, A Call to Oneness, will be starting a new program to provide moral guidance in high-crime neighborhoods.

This is a fantastic idea. The organization’s teams will likely be able to have far more of a positive impact on these neighborhoods than squads of police officers, halls full of bureaucrats, or other "outsiders" could ever hope to have, simply by providing role models of socially responsible behavior to whom young people can relate. This is just one more example of how civil society can work together to improve communities without relying on inefficient and/or misguided government programs.