Traction is a CSC ministry that mobilizes, trains and supports Christians to share their lives, resources, and networks beyond socially prescribed boundaries.
It is a network of individuals of Christian faith offering men and women an experience in supportive and enriching environments where they are mentored and challenged to pursue individual and shared goals.
The Traction Story
- Traction started over 10 years ago in Boston as Leslie Moore chose a particular way to live out the values of her church, Central Square Church, by sharing her multi-family home with a group of young women (aged 18-25) who she lived alongside and mentored.
- In the months and years to come, other Christians partnered with Leslie to mentor men and women, share life, & sometimes their homes
- Individuals who have been involved in the network are called “The Traction Family.” No matter the capacity to share resources with others, each person commits themselves to disciplines of work and learning meant to empower them to transition into healthy interdependent living situations.
- Today, the Traction network includes individuals in Boston, MA and Pawtucket / Central Falls, RI who support the discipleship and self-actualization journeys of one another who have become the Traction Family.
How Traction Works
- Traction is a model of resource sharing. Traction network members share their lives, social networks and/or homes with individuals in need. They often absorb the costs of mortgages, utilities, home repairs, internet access, furniture, and food in their particular homes. Other members of the Traction Network also join in to share resources to support Traction family.
- The hope of the Traction network is to equip individuals to live interdependently by boldly sharing resources (food, security, time and networks) in healthy ways so that everyone in the community has the opportunity to focus on their goals, hopes and dreams.
- Traction Network members find joy in
- witnessing the miracle of resources multiplying when in faith they offer to share them with their neighbors
- seeing just how far individuals can go once they stop spinning their wheels and get a little “Traction.”
Traction Today
Traction ministry’s foundation of resource sharing is finding creative expression through The Black Block RI and Traction Housing Justice Cohort as well as individuals continuing to share their lives, resources and homes.
The Black Block RI
The Black Block RI is a hub of black owned property, businesses and cultural expression in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Leslie Moore shares opportunities for unlikely entrepreneurs including space, furniture and technical support. What has grown is a downtown community filled with a performing arts center, mini mall, compact grocery store, counseling centers, an ice cream shop, event spaces and more!
Traction Housing Justice Cohort
Traction Housing Justice Cohort (THJC) is a cohort of black and brown aspiring homeowners in a variety of stages along the homeownership journey teamed up with black and brown homeowners championing them on the road towards home ownership. THJC is a community that walks alongside aspiring homeowners creating space to lament and name injustice past and present, celebrate milestones towards homeownership large and small, and discover together how leveraging resources plus creative, community-minded thinking releases the redemptive story God can tell through the home buying process.