Imagine for a moment that you are a single adult male, age 42 who has been living in a homeless shelter for the last 30 days. After months of looking for work, you find a job as a janitorial assistant that pays $8.00 an hour.

Imagine that you have $400 in savings, no car, no furnishings and no financial support from friends or family.

Now imagine the challenge of living a life under these circumstances. Living without so many things that most of us take for granted every day. Living in a cold drafty efficiency apartment instead of a warm home. Taking the bus or walking miles every day to get to work instead of just getting in your car. Only being able to buy enough groceries that you can carry rather than put in the back of your mini-van.

Imagine the challenge of being poor.

Last Monday evening some parishioners got the opportunity to face that dilemma at a workshop called “The Challenge of Being Poor”. St Joan of Arc in partnership with Third Way Network created the workshop to help demonstrate the serious need for awareness and action on behalf of the “working poor” in the Twin Cities.

Between 1990 and 2000, rents in the metro area rose 26% while incomes only grew 12%. More than 37% of renters in Hennepin County pay over 30% of their income on housing and 16% pay over 50%.

Third Way Network has been working with SJA to continue its mission of creating local, creative, effective action for affordable housing. One of its first projects was the completion of its first affordable housing project in June, 2002. Excess space in a single family home was used to create an affordable two bedroom apartment with volunteers from St. Joan of Arc Church and subcontractors working together over a three month period.

Continuing its efforts to help families find affordable housing, this workshop was created to bring to light the limited amount of affordable housing for people with low incomes. By understanding the limitations and challenges of being poor, it is hoped that awareness and action will result in additional volunteers taking part in various projects sponsored by Third Way Network.

Third Way works with construction companies, property managers, strategic partners, community leaders and volunteers, along with its model partnership with St. Joan of Arc to identify, mobilize and coordinate the necessary resources for minimizing the cost of and providing more of low-cost housing.

Michael Erdman is a longtime parishioner and volunteer at St. Joan's. Michael was the homilist on Fathers Day in 1994, has been active in the planning and hosting of Family Camp in years past, was a faithful choir member for a long time and belongs to a small Christian community that has been together for over 8 years. Michael, his wife Melany who collaborated on this story, daughters Melissa and Michelle have been coming to St. Joans for over 14 years and despite the distance from Crystal, says it's his "second home", "because it's where all my friends are" he says. Michael is passionate about parenting/family issues and sees SJA as a loving community that supports and nurtures families in their spiritual journey.

As part of St. Joan’s Housing Ministry, Julie Madden working with Paul Halvorson at Third Way are seeking volunteers to participate in various projects designed to help fill the need for decent, livable and low-cost housing in the Twin Cities. For more information, contact Julie Madden at 612-823-8205 or Paul Halvorson at 612-332-1311 or go to www.ThirdWayNetwork.org.

Amie Rankin, a resident of the Regina Neighborhood, believes strongly in balancing "community solutions" and "individual responsibility ". She is passionately committed to the exposure and the expansion of Companion Animals in our society. Employed full time with Chicago Title Insurance Company, Amie has many interests; photography is just one of them. "Heart," "Spark," "Spirit," -- whatever word we use for the mysterious force that animated us, its full potential cannot be realized in isolation. (Paul Loeb- SOUL OF A CITIZEN)