Down on his luck and out of work, Marc D. Goldfinger, a homeless heroin addict who by his own admission hadn't worked an honest day's work in years, found an organization that needed him.

Goldfinger first started working as a vendor for Spare Change, a newspaper run entirely by members of the homeless community, in 1993.

"I came aboard as a homeless, heroin addict and [the paper] was one of the things that helped me turn my life around," he says. "I was able to put down the heroin that had been plaguing my life for 32 years."

But by the time Goldfinger was named editor of the paper in September, 1994, he found out that Spare Change needed him as desperately as he had once depended on the paper's help.

The monthly, which is written, edited, and distributed by paid volunteers, faced ruin because workers had begun stealing money and many benefactors had lost faith in the paper.

"People were taking things for personal use," says vendor and finance committee member Horace Reid. "It took us a while to get things in order."

"There was a big problem prior to June of [1994]," says Goldfinger. "People were not being accountable with cash that was coming in."

But recent restructuring and the establishment of a board of directors comprised of members of the business and social service community has the paper back on track.

"We have turned this paper around in the past year and made it a success," he says. "We have had grow- ing pains, but this has been a successful year and the people that are coming aboard now are just fantastic."

The paper is now run by a group of committees instead of a small group of people. And several bureaucratic measures, like co-signing checks, have been put into place to prevent workers from taking money from the paper improperly, Goldfinger says.

"I worked with no salary. Gradually we were able to bring other people in," says Goldfinger, who joined the paper as a vendor two years ago. "It was a month by month thing."

Spare Change, which published its first edition in May 1992, depends on the trust of organizations, like the Boston Foundation and the Boston Computer Society, which donate funds and resources.

According to Reid, when benefactors are unsure about where their money is going, they are less likely to contribute to Spare Change. Consequently, the committees and the board of directors now work together to ensure that past mistakes aren't repeated.

"We lost a lot... we are just starting to get back on our feet," says editorial committee member Greg Daugherty, who is better known as the vendor who stands outside Au Bon Pain and greets passers-by with the calls: "Young man" and "Pretty lady."

"When people are homeless, it is very hard to deal effectively with other things," says Goldfinger. "Directly answerable to the board is going to be the office manager and the editor... so there will be a structure where the buck stops here."

During the last year, Goldfinger tried to establish some accountability, but he says he could not do it on his own.