One Woman's True Grit
By Karen Free



Jane Johnson was born and raised in Sandtown, West Baltimore, Md., moved to new public housing in 1991, and two years ago, became a Habitat homeowner. She lives on Leslie Street, a neighborhood of 27 new row houses that stand as a testament to what is possible when a community comes together to make things better. She's also assistant director of New Song Community Learning Center.

"My true blessing is to be able to stay in the neighborhood, even though it's a hard life to live in Sandtown," she says, referring to the high levels of drugs, violence, crime and other social ills that abound in the area.

"Once Habitat came here, things changed; it brought a great sense of hope," Johnson says. "What means so much to me is that those who set the vision actually live here. When the Tibbels moved into Sandtown, they established relationships, asked what we wanted and brought stability."

Johnson's also quick to compare and contrast life today to her former days living in public housing.

"I live just one minute from where I used to live, so I'm still exposed to the same things," says Johnson. "In public housing, we all went our own ways. On Leslie Street, we're all on the same wave length. We want to keep moving up, keep changing. New Song Ministries and Sandtown HFH offer a holistic approach to life. They've won my trust."





Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, June/July 2000.
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©2000 Habitat for Humanity International