A House Built on Love: The enterprising team creating homes for the homeless

People leaving prison; refugees; victims of abuse and prostitution. All struggle to find a home, to build relationships, to get back on their feet. The root cause of homelessness is relational: the homeless suffer not just the lack of a roof, but a lack of love. But what if someone could provide not only a home, but also a network? Real people, who knew what they were doing, and who cared? In 2007 Ed Walker published with Monarch Books a book called Reflections from the Scorched Earth. It described his nine years of living and working in six distinct war zones - notably in Darfur - as a Christian humanitarian aid worker with Tearfund. Returning to the UK, Ed worked for the YMCA for three years. But before long Ed and Rachel felt the call to start a genuinely Christian charity working with ex-offenders and the homeless. The private rental sector was out of reach for many, and government provision was horribly inadequate. Both problems have grown massively in the subsequent years. Scraping together every penny they could find, in 2010 the young couple set up a charity, Hope into Action, invested GBP30,000 in a house and bought the first home for the homeless in partnership with their church. This charity has now grown to 51 homes across fifteen towns and cities. Hope into Action have won numerous awards both secular and Christian (they won the Guardian's Public Service Award in 2017, and an award from the Centre for Social Justice). The vision is simple, but devastatingly effective. It provides a vehicle for Christians with money to invest in housing stock, with a modest but guaranteed return. Once funds in a locality are available, and in partnership with a local church, HiA will select a suitable house, which is refurbished as necessary. Together with the local church, the members of which will receive training from HiA in befriending and providing guidance, HiA will select suitable tenants. HiA provide case workers to monitor, smooth understanding, provide support