One of the ways that St. Francis will be able to help fight homelessness in Washtenaw County this Lent is by supporting RAAH.   Religious Action for Affordable Housing is a non-profit initiated in  1999 to mobilize human and financial resources through the religious community in Washtenaw County.  RAAH’s mission includes education on the urgent need for affordable housing, advocacy at the local and state levels and fund raising to support local non-profit organizations in Washtenaw County WHICH PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. 

RAAH’s work has supported our citizens in need by fundraising for Avalon Housing to buy the land upon which Carrot Way was built and SUPPORTING THE START OF the Homeplace Community Land Trust. 
RAAH’s latest effort is working with MPRI (Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative) to assist 20 parolees with mental and/or  physical disabilities with their housing and SUPPORTIVE service needs  after their time in prison.  It is documented that “If the incarcerated person is mentally ill, the cost IN PRISON can be as high  as $45,000/year/person.”  This RAAH/MPRI PILOT project cuts that cost  to about $14,450 per year/per person.  MPRI’s Mission is to reduce  crime.  RAAH’s Mission is to garner affordable housing.  Recidivism  has been shown to be related to homelessness AND THE AVERAGE TIME  BEFORE A MENTALLY ILL PAROLEE HAS BEEN SENT BACK TO PRISON HAS BEEN 76  DAYS.  MPRI IS CHANGING THIS.  This combined effort is a win/win for  all in our community.  AT THIS TIME, St. Francis is 1 of OVER 20  congregations supporting RAAH and has a parish member on RAAH’s board.

Be an advocate for each other.  Be a mentor for someone trying to get their feet back on solid ground.
· Learn more about RAAH:  www.raah.org
· Learn more about MPRI:  www.michigan.gov/corrections
Ask the question of how can I make things better so we can be more Christ like.  Our Lenten offering gives us at St. Francis this opportunity to help build a stronger community and help reaffirm that:  “Everyone is my Neighbor.”

Please use the “MY LENTEN OFFERING” sack, and, see in the Forum HERE the:
“Let Us Build A House” Lenten Calendar.
This will give you more information about homelessness in our neighborhoods and ways to get involved. 

My children were 6 and 9 years old when their Grandpa first took them to work at a Habitat for Humanity home.  They were visiting him in Flint for a week during summer vacation.  As a practicing Catholic, he lives his belief in serving people who are less fortunate.  This summer, my husband will take the boys (now in high school) to work on the Habitat for Humanity Catholic House at 328 Garland Street, Ypsilanti , MI  48198, which St. Francis is supporting. 

Can you help with this project by volunteering to work at the house or by contributing towards its construction?  Housing assistance is needed more than ever, as people all over Washtenaw County feel the impact of foreclosures and evictions.  In a recent St. Francis housing survey, 60% of respondents have seen the impact of the recent housing crisis in their neighborhoods, and 43% have experienced foreclosure/eviction or know someone who has.  The work of Habitat for Humanity helps to address the impact on individuals and neighborhoods.

Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley (HHHV) is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization that works to eliminate poverty housing.  They build homes in partnership with families who demonstrate need and a willingness to help build a home of their own.  Habitat homeowners qualify for an interest-free mortgage from Habitat, make a modest down payment, and put in at least 300 hours (per adult household member) of “sweat equity” building their home.  With the help of thousands of volunteers, HHHV has built nearly 80 homes in Washtenaw County since 1990.

One parishioner offers some thoughts of Why Habitat for Humanity is Needed:  People who live in poor quality housing (especially children) have more health problems such as asthma, and are more at risk of being in a fire because of bad electrical wiring.  They also tend to live in areas of high crime.  They often live in other unsafe conditions such as walls painted with lead paint and unstable structures.  Habitat for Humanity has shown that building homes does more than put a roof over someone's head.  In clean, decent, stable housing:

· Families can provide stability for their children.
· A family's sense of dignity and pride grow.
· Health, physical safety, and security improve
· Educational and job prospects increase.

St. Francis even has a website solely devoted to our participation in Habitat for Humanity.  Please check it out to see pictures and learn more about our continuing commitment to this wonderful organization at http://stfrancisa2.com/habitat/. 

Bunting, Eve, (1991), Fly Away Home. Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin. [ages 3-7]
A homeless boy who lives in an airport with his father, moving from terminal to terminal and trying not to
be noticed, is given hope when he sees a trapped bird find its freedom.

Kroll, Virginia (1995). Shelter Folks. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [ages 5-10] Joelle is embarrassed that her family has to move into a shelter, but when she gets to know the other people living there and they come to see her in a school play, she no longer feels ashamed.

Berck, Judith, (1992). No Place to Be: Voices of Homeless Children. Houghton Mifflin. [ages 8-12+] The stories and poems of actual homeless children – including fourteen-year-old Kareem, who lives in a city shelter – depict the reality of homelessness in America, illustrating what it means to be deprived of the things most people take for granted.

Here we are in our 4th Full Week of LENT.  This is our time to  look at God in our lives and our lives in relationship to others. Our St.Francis Family Lenten Offerings are focusing on affordable Housing here in Washtenaw  County through the efforts of Habitat for Humanity and RAAH. 

Joe is one of the individuals benefiting from the (Religious Action for Affordable Housing) RAAH/MPRI supportive housing effort. After completing his 15 year incarceration,  Joe has been in the MPRI (Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative) program for 4 months. He has an apartment, which he takes great pride in. This apartment will become his thru the disability benefits that are Joe's from his previous employment.  Joe held a full time job prior to his incarceration and due to his medical condition is unable to carry a job at this time. Pictures of his family decorate his walls. Joe is establishing new friendships, works with his community coach, is reestablishing relationships with his family and has a place to call home. He is a citizen who is taking seriously his opportunity to contribute to society, this is a “for certain.”

There are ways to volunteer with MPRI and the contact is : www.michigan.gov/corrections . The Washtenaw Community Coordinator is Mary King (734-327-9717). One step at a time, the support needed for those who need mental/physical health support post incarceration is slowly being established in our community.

RAAH also works with Avalon House. Avalon Housing is a community-based, non-profit organization dedicated to developing and managing permanent supportive rental housing for people with extremely low incomes in Washtenaw County. The majority of the households supported include people who were homeless or who have a mental or physical disability.   As with the MPRI work, volunteer support services are available to all tenants to help them maintain their housing and enhance their quality of life.  Avalon House is offering regular guided tours of several of the Avalon properties.    RSVP’s are needed and the contact is through: Jude Walton #(734-663-5858).

As we take our journey through LENT let us remember how the load can be shared as not one of us doesn’t need a hand up.

Depending on our schedule, my husband, sons and I enjoy dinner together complete with lively conversation, news, prayer and the occasional joke.  On Fridays we find ourselves in the pool at the Rec Center for Family Swim night.  This year, when my husband heads out to clear the snow, he finds himself with two little helpers.  The three of them end up playing together in the snow until it is time for bed.  And when the boys are snuggled in bed, we share quiet and prayer and gentle affection. 

Some say: “That is what makes a house a home.”  Well, if that is the case, then I am truly blessed with a house and a home.  But what about those who don’t have that blessing?  What about those who have a house but not a home?  Can one have a place to live and still be homeless?

Here in Washtenaw County going home means facing potential danger for some women and children and men too.  They face physical, mental, verbal or sexual abuse which degrades their own self-image and erodes their spirit. Children of abusers often learn this behavior and abuse others in their own relationships.  One in four women in the United States will face abuse in her lifetime.  Fifty percent of homeless women are fleeing domestic violence.  In Michigan a domestic violence related homicide happens every eight days.  What can we do?

Learn about and support Safe House.  SafeHouse Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault in Washtenaw County. It provides safety, support, advocacy and resources for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence and their children.  SafeHouse has a 50 bed shelter and also provides non-residential services.  To learn more visit safehousecenter.org

Learn about and support Ozone House.  Since 1969, Ozone House has provided a safe place, shelter and continued support to thousands of runaway, homeless and high-risk youth in our community who don't have a safe place to call home. They provide emergency and transitional housing, meals, crisis intervention, advocacy, health care and counseling.  Youth who experience serious family conflict and/or physical abuse, youth who have aged out of the foster care system or youth who are “throw aways” to parents that can not handle them emotionally, financially or otherwise find a new start at Ozone house.  To learn more visit ozonehouse.org.

Fast from violence.  Violence is a learned behavior that can be unlearned.  Our culture is filled with violent images, numbing us to its immorality and the toll it takes on God’s creation.  Try a 24 hour violence blackout.  Turn off violent TV, video games, computers, music or other games.  Instead spend the time practicing non-violence.  See how it goes!

Soon to come, "examples of ways how to 'spend the time practicing non-violence'."

Pray
God of Love and Creator of the universe, 
there are homes in our world where people live with fear of violence. 
For these families the home is not a safe place, but a place of danger and pain.

Give them the strength and wisdom they need to conquer arrogance, fear and division.
Give them the grace to solve the conflicts without violence and to establish relationships based on the spirit of love and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God of Mercy, many of us have ignored abused people. Open our hearts to the pain of all who suffer. Help us to reach them with love and understanding.

God of Hope, in you we trust opening our lives to your strength, healing and love. Teach us that peace only comes to our world through the peace we have in our hearts and homes.

Amen

When we think about homelessness, what comes to mind?  People who are drug addicts and/or drunks?  People who buy too many ‘things’ on credit?  People who focus on their wants rather than their needs?  People who end up on the wrong side of the law?  People who come to the USA / Washtenaw County illegally?  Women who are pregnant without a husband or family support?  People who have a place to live but are alone?  People who have fallen on ‘hard times’?  Yes, the causes of homelessness can be any and all of these reasons but in truth, the causes of homelessness are complex. Over the 5th week of lent, we will focus on a few of the St. Francis of Assisi volunteers for agencies that provide ‘homes’ to people in different ways.

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive. . .

Alpha House is a healing place for families suffering the loss of their homes. Families  are mentored in a variety of areas such as parenting skills, fiscal responsibility, etc. Volunteers work under the guidance of the professional staff by stocking the pantry, providing meals, cleaning up and spending time with the resident families. 

St. Francis of Assisi’ volunteers offer their services for two weeks out of each year. Chris Kempton, Kate Miller and Albert Zangrilli, volunteer coordinators, set up the schedule of volunteers and act as the contacts between Alpha House and St. Francis. The time spent in bringing comfort and aid to homeless people in Washtenaw Country through the work at Alpha House allows the volunteers to realize that their actions are having an effect on the lives of their less fortunate neighbors. 

Chris Kempton reports, “Volunteering with Alpha House is a wonderful way to help the homeless families in our midst. The varied needs of Alpha House present opportunities for parishioners with different skills. Volunteers have the opportunity to meet and interact with their homeless neighbors.” 
 

Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions. . .

Jail Ministry offers people housed at the Washtenaw Country Jail the opportunity to grow in faith through services held separately for men and women on Wednesday and Sunday evenings and on Saturday mornings.  The Catholic team, which includes members of St. Francis of Assisi, provides services for Catholic teachings, scripture readings and related lessons. On Saturday mornings, if a priest is available, a mass is offered with the men inmates. Sunday evening service at 7 PM alternates between men and women. The Adoration of the Eucharist for the women inmates takes place at this time. 

One-on-one services between a volunteer and an inmate require a special calling. Mary Carol Conroy, a former one-on-one volunteer, reports that “In praying through the Forum looking for possible opportunities, I felt a strong call to the Jail Ministry – stronger than my initial fears and reluctance to respond to something so far out of my comfort zone.”
One-on-one inmates must request to meet with a volunteer. The confidential visit is arranged and the volunteer meets privately with an inmate. 

Anyone interested in service and/or one-on-one work must first of all participate in the Jail Orientation Training, which takes place 3-4 times per year, and attend services with inmates to discern if the one-on-one ministry is a good fit. 

Rosaleen Kirk states that the scripture that spoke and continues to speak to her in her Jail Ministry one-on-one work is: I was in prison and you visited me. . . 
 

Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
Where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew. . .

Habitat for Humanity is a dream-come-true for those who get the opportunity to own their own home.  No one is given a home for free.  H4H offers interest- free mortgages to those who qualify and each prospective adult home owner must commit to 300 hours of sweat equity.  This allows the home owners to participate in the work with volunteers.  While new homes are built through H4H, the current trend with so many homes in foreclosure is to rehabilitate existing homes. This was case for the Catholic House a few years ago and is the case for 2009 Catholic House. Come visit / volunteer and see God’s work in action in Washtenaw County:  328 Garland, Ypsilanti, MI. 

Steve Polgar, House Leader for the 2009 Catholic House says, “H4H gives me the opportunity to use the gifts my father learned as a result of the Great Depression. He taught me and I teach people to do the same thing.  I have enjoyed being in clubs, sports groups, etc. but H4H allows me to serve.”

Just as H4H mentors new homeowners by providing classes in the refurbishing process, finance, etc., Steve credits his 11 year H4H experience to his mentor, Bob Kovac, who provided the inspiration to continue to carry on the work of H4H. It is working with volunteers and the homeowners that adds such richness to the experience.

Anyone [women, men, teens starting at age 16] can participate in H4H. You do not have to know about building or construction. People are on-site to teach you what you need to do. Think about volunteering. Work takes place every Saturday. Sign up is on-line at:  www.stfrancis2.org and click on 2009 Catholic Build.