A $5,000 grant has been given to Change of Heart, the newspaper directed at Lawrence’s homeless community.

The grant, awarded by the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in Oklahoma City, will be used to enhance the paper’s production and distribution, according to writer Craig Sweets and editor Judy Sweets.

For almost 10 years, Change of Heart, under its parent organization, the Coalition for Homeless Concerns, has been published quarterly. It is intended to give a voice to people who are homeless in Lawrence. Born in 2005, about 1,000 papers are printed and distributed every three months.

The paper’s homeless street vendors, after signing a code-of-conduct contract, benefit directly by earning 75 cents out of every dollar donation. The remainder goes to production costs.