Thursday, April 06, 2017 7:32:39 PM
Group builds free 'tiny houses' for homeless veterans
The first batch of "tiny houses" for homeless veterans by the Veterans Community Project in Kansas City, Missouri.
Army veteran Chris Stout observed the roadblocks to getting homeless veterans off the street while working for a Kansas City nonprofit.
They didn’t want to live in shelters — in part because there was nowhere to put the personal items they were carrying around in shopping carts and trash bags.
The “tiny houses” project was born.
“Working with these guys on the street, working with guys in the shelters — They were always protecting their stuff,” said Stout, a former 82nd Airborne soldier who was medically retired after being injured in Afghanistan.
“That’s where the tiny houses came from. We’re going to give them own space.”
Welcome to The Intel, a blog examining the hot military news of the day
Stout’s nonprofit group, Veterans Community Project, plans to erect 50 houses measuring 240 square feet on its land in Kansas City.
The property is a former vacant lot that the city sold to Veterans Community Project for $500. The city also credited $325,000 toward connecting the land to the sewer system.
The first 10 pre-fabricated units are up; the remaining ones are expected to be hand-built through the help of volunteers by fall.
Each small unit will have a full bathroom, kitchen, bed and desk.
Cost: about $15,000 each including overhead expenses.
The cost to the homeless veteran will be nothing because Veterans Community Project expects to raise the money through charitable gifts and donated labor.
Homeless veterans will also be able to live there, rent-free, while they are progressing toward getting permanent housing.
“The idea is not just transitional housing and then kick them to the curb. The idea is to prevent that,” Stout said. “None of these veterans is on a time limit. Every veteran is different.”
Stout and his co-founders, also veterans, began their project nearly two years ago.
They sees it as a model that can be replicated elsewhere.
The idea has been raised in San Diego, as an answer to the overall homeless issue.
Their story has caught fire on the Internet. Posts about the project ranked as one of the top 15 veterans stories being shared on Facebook earlier this week.
The group gets three to five inquiries a day from people who are interested in the concept for other locations. Three or four other city councils have called. The Kansas City group is eyeing Texas as a potential next spot.
“That’s how we designed this, so it could be transferred to any city,” Stout said in a telephone interview this week. “Once you gain the property – it’s a very simple model and could be done anywhere.”
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/the-intel/sd-me-tinyhouses-veterans-20170405-story.html
The first batch of "tiny houses" for homeless veterans by the Veterans Community Project in Kansas City, Missouri.
Army veteran Chris Stout observed the roadblocks to getting homeless veterans off the street while working for a Kansas City nonprofit.
They didn’t want to live in shelters — in part because there was nowhere to put the personal items they were carrying around in shopping carts and trash bags.
The “tiny houses” project was born.
“Working with these guys on the street, working with guys in the shelters — They were always protecting their stuff,” said Stout, a former 82nd Airborne soldier who was medically retired after being injured in Afghanistan.
“That’s where the tiny houses came from. We’re going to give them own space.”
Welcome to The Intel, a blog examining the hot military news of the day
Stout’s nonprofit group, Veterans Community Project, plans to erect 50 houses measuring 240 square feet on its land in Kansas City.
The property is a former vacant lot that the city sold to Veterans Community Project for $500. The city also credited $325,000 toward connecting the land to the sewer system.
The first 10 pre-fabricated units are up; the remaining ones are expected to be hand-built through the help of volunteers by fall.
Each small unit will have a full bathroom, kitchen, bed and desk.
Cost: about $15,000 each including overhead expenses.
The cost to the homeless veteran will be nothing because Veterans Community Project expects to raise the money through charitable gifts and donated labor.
Homeless veterans will also be able to live there, rent-free, while they are progressing toward getting permanent housing.
“The idea is not just transitional housing and then kick them to the curb. The idea is to prevent that,” Stout said. “None of these veterans is on a time limit. Every veteran is different.”
Stout and his co-founders, also veterans, began their project nearly two years ago.
They sees it as a model that can be replicated elsewhere.
The idea has been raised in San Diego, as an answer to the overall homeless issue.
Their story has caught fire on the Internet. Posts about the project ranked as one of the top 15 veterans stories being shared on Facebook earlier this week.
The group gets three to five inquiries a day from people who are interested in the concept for other locations. Three or four other city councils have called. The Kansas City group is eyeing Texas as a potential next spot.
“That’s how we designed this, so it could be transferred to any city,” Stout said in a telephone interview this week. “Once you gain the property – it’s a very simple model and could be done anywhere.”
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/military/the-intel/sd-me-tinyhouses-veterans-20170405-story.html
Starting to drain the swamp.
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