Always with us?

Jesus said that the poor will always be with us, but 181 people packed into the Board Auditorium at the Fairfax County Government Center last week to discuss the extraordinarily ambitious goal of eliminating homelessness in the Fairfax/Falls Church area over the next 10 years. Churches from a variety of religions propose to provide affordable housing to low-income families who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

"The faith community is one community," said Imam Mohammed Hag Magid, the chairman of Faith Communities in Action, "People are knocking at the door of the synagogue, church, mosque, and temple. We are working together for a greater cause. I do believe Fairfax County will make history by ending homelessness."

There are 1,730 homeless people in Fairfax and almost 60 percent are in families. Almost 30 percent of those in families are homeless due to domestic violence. While many work full-time, their low incomes keep them from out of stable housing. Sixty percent of single individuals experience a mental illness, suffer from substance abuse, or a health problem.

The churches propose to build housing on church properties for people like Luella Brown.

Brown grew up a victim of sexual and emotional abuse in the home of her grandma. At age 17 she finally ran away from home to escape four years of rape by a family member. Two years later, she found herself pregnant, alone, and scared. When she was twenty, she gave birth to a son.

Although she had a job, she and her son were in and out of shelters, apartments, and friends' homes for years. Brown found out that she qualified for homeless housing in the Fairfax area. Together, she and her son built their own home and moved in. "I'm just so happy for these programs," Brown said. "I don't have to worry about ever being homeless."

Maybe. Those with a biblical approach to dealing with poverty know that changing people's circumstances often isn't enough. The most effective poverty-fighting programs provide accountability and personal involvement along with help for material needs. A century ago, churches often took on that responsibility in their communities; today government usually handles it and the end result too often is that the housing or meals only subsidize people's poor life choices.

Now Fairfax area churches are stepping up. Ryan Messmore, a fellow in religion and civil society at the Heritage Foundation, believes that when churches focus on issues in their own backyard, they are able to make a difference in the lives of the people around them.

"What we need are churches and other institutions close to the ground that can get to know every person in need and give assistance that is tailored to that person," he said. "Instead of just addressing the symptom, the church tries to bring them in so they can understand the background issues and develop mentoring relationships."

Messmore thinks the best way to help someone struggling with poverty is to work on changing their rhythms and habits, as well as developing personal relationships with them.

The Fairfax initiative is designed to provide stability for the homeless, rather then putting them in a shelter, which then allows them to focus on finding better jobs or pursuing an education. The housing-first technique has been tried in another cities and has reduced the number of homeless people. Westchester County, N.Y., saw a 57% drop in family homelessness over a four-year period.

Will it produce lasting change in the lives of the people it helps? "The needs are real," said David Bowers, vice president and market leader of Enterprise Community Partners. "It's not going to be easy to meet their needs, but was it easy for Moses? Was it easy for Jesus? Was it easy for the prophet Mohammed?"

For Jesus, of course, meeting physical needs was easy; spiritual change is hard. To what extent can this program, sponsored by people of different religions, provide real spiritual food?

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