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, bought the first home for the homeless in partnership with their church. This charity has now grown to fifty homes across fifteen towns and cities. Hope into Action have won numerous awards both secular and Christian. Hope into Action tells Ed's story of faith and struggle as he and his wife saw the need, felt the call and stepped out in faith, developed a new theology of sharing and saw both tragic and wonderful results. It explains how we meet and grow in Christ as we interact with those in the shadows and those hidden in darkness.
