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Weekly UpdatesAs the nation's sluggish economy worsens in some areas, group of formerly homeless men in Indianapolis is working to draw attention to the plight of people like them. The effort, dubbed One Paycheck Away (OPA), is focused on education and advocacy. The goal: To raise awareness of the problem in hopes of finding a solution.
Such so-called "peer-empowerment" initiatives are gaining steam nationally, said Indiana University Professor Eric Wright, director of the school's Center for Health Policy. "This is one of the most powerful ways to engage difficult populations, those who might feel they aren't a good fit for the existing system," he said.
"It's amazing how much they really connect with people in ways policymakers and ... advocates cannot," said Wright. "It's much more powerful when you have someone who's been there--or is there--talking about the situation."
OPA got its start last fall after several men, who were living at an Indianapolis homeless shelter, joined an adult Bible study group at a nearby church. The topic was God and politics. The conversation quickly turned to homelessness. The men didn't have easy answers, but they wanted to help look for some.
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"We were complaining about a system that didn't work," said co-founder Mark Little, 31, who found himself homeless after battling mental illness but now has housing. "So we decided to get a few people together and see what we could do.... Nobody ever stops to think, 'What's best for you guys? What do you think?'"
The group got its name from the familiar saying that countless Americans are one paycheck away from homelessness. Its members firmly believe they are one paycheck away from having homes.
With support from Lockerbie United Methodist Church, they set out to share their views with the community through a monthly--now bimonthly--newsletter by the same name. Little prints approximately 400 copies of each issue on the church copy machine and distributes them to central Indiana service providers and others, including homeless people living in shelters and on the streets. Donations cover most of the $150 to $200 per issue cost of printing and postage.
The publication has examined some of the root causes of homelessness, including mental illness, substance abuse, unemployment and abuse. It regularly shares individual stories and provides a handy resource guide for the homeless.
Building awareness has been the group's primary goal, but its partnership with the church has provided other opportunities, too. Little, who said that he earned a degree in music performance from California Polytechnic State University, landed a part-time gig teaching music at Lockerbie UMC. A trained carpenter living at the mission built a coffee bar for what has become Earth House Coffee + Books, another enterprise there staffed almost entirely by homeless or formerly homeless people and coordinated by OPA.
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"Our church is a place of encouragement," said the Rev. Chad Abbott, pastor at the urban ministry located blocks from Indianapolis' largest homeless shelter. "Our starting point is that every person is created by God ... no one's beyond redemption. We try to focus on what it is that homeless people have to offer, not just what it is they need."
That's what Little and his colleagues leagues want other organizations to see--the value that the homeless perspective could bring to service providers and policymakers alike. "Part of our job is to help the system along," he said, "to tell them what's working and what is needed in the future."
Despite its early progress, OPA still has a long way to go to get a seat at the table with decision-makers. The organization is not widely known among local homeless advocates, let alone the community at large. For example, after six months on the job, Kimberly Wize, executive director of Indianapolis' Coalition for Homeless Intervention and Prevention (CHIP), has only a vague idea of what OPA does and didn't feel comfortable answering questions about the organization.
Still, she agrees with Little's assertion that nonprofits should seek input from their patrons. That's why CHIP has tried to include someone who is or has been homeless on many of its task forces, she said.
"That gives you some grassroots information, first-hand knowledge of what that population might be needing," Wize said. "I think it's happening more than you might think."
Indeed, Indianapolis day center Horizon House has had at least one formerly homeless person on its board since 2001. Engaging those who have experience with homelessness keeps the organization on track, said Executive Director Carter Wolf.
"I don't think it has changed us, but it has certainly reaffirmed that we're doing the right thing," he said. "You cannot serve people if you're not listening to what they have to say," which isn't to say that it's easy. Some organizations might recognize the importance of the input but not know how to go about getting it. After all, people who don't have fixed addresses aren't always easy to reach, said Kirsten Gronbjerg, who holds Indiana University's Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy.
It's even more difficult for a group like OPA to make inroads, she said. "It's an uphill battle, I think," Gronbjerg said. "They don't control the funding and many organizations might not know what to do with them."
Little is undeterred. He's taking nonprofit-management classes at Ivy Tech Community College and is in the early stages of reorganizing OPA in hopes of incorporating it and seeking tax-exempt status, which he thinks will help fundraising enough to get the effort out of the red.
"They're only as effective as the degree to which we support them in their work," said Wright, the IU professor who has led research on the homeless. "If it's going to be really effective, we need to find ways to support them financially. That's not an easy task."
Andrea Muirragui Davis is an associate editor at the Indianapolis Business Journal in Indianapolis, Ind., and focuses on the charitable sector.
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