Hey, everybody, I could use some input!

Yesterday I was scanning the writing jobs on a national job site on the 'net, and I came across this very interesting ad for a grant writer for a non profit called Family Promise http://www.nihn.org/about/about.html. The job is part time, and you can work at home. Family Promise is working to help homeless families get housing and provide training to the adults to allow them to enter the work force and become self-sufficient. I'd never heard of them before, but as far as I can tell, they seem to be a legitimate organization working towards a very worthy goal. In fact, nothing could be closer to my heart than the work they are doing to assist the homeless and help them get back on their feet and be productive members of society again.

Guys, I think that I could do this job. I feel that I really have made some good strides toward recovering from the neurological damage I sustained from the CO, and I feel much clearer and more focused than I did even a year ago. I want so much to be a productive member of society again, myself. This just might be a great first step. I could work in the quiet of my own home without the distractions of a regular workplace which would really help me stay focused and on task. When I worked as a professional librarian I successfully wrote up and obtained several grants for my library. They were small ones, but I DID get them. I was also the science and medical book reviewer for THE professional publication for librarians - "The Library Journal."

I'm still a pretty good researcher, and, in fact, because of my own precarious housing situation, I've already been doing a lot of research into available funding for housing for people at or below the poverty line. I am very familiar with government agencies, and I've fought several successful battles on my own behalf with them. In addition, I've written an article on homelessness for one weekly paper and went to a major paper Colorado Springs and got them to print a front page article on homelessness with me on the cover (not my idea to be on the cover - theirs ).

What goes against me is the huge gap in my work history and the fact that Family Promise wants someone with 3 years experience as a grant writer. What I was thinking is that I could send them my professional librarian resume, highlighting my research and writing experience, and then in the cover letter, explain briefly what happened to me to create the gap in my job experience. I think in this case, I just might be able to turn my greatest liability into my greatest asset. After all, my experience as a homeless person myself will mean that I will bring far more determination and dedication to the project than someone who has never had that happen to them. And how many people with two master's degrees have experienced being homeless and living below the poverty line, and understand first hand the desperation of such a life?

The folks who hang out here in the Cellar are a pretty bright bunch and a lot of you are professionals. You also know more about the current climate of the employment world than I do since I've been out of the loop for so long. Do you all think my application might have a chance of being considered or am I nuts to even think of trying? If you do think I might have a chance, any ideas on how I might package my application? Your thoughts would be very much appreciated. Thanks!