Four new tiny houses, designed to provide transitional housing for homeless people, are nearly complete.
The community will have a chance to preview the homes during an open house and cookout event hosted by Genesis House at 5 p.m. Aug. 25 at East Kenwood Missionary Baptist Church, located 2701 E. Kenwood St.
The event will include a free cookout, bounce houses, children's games, tours of fire and military trucks, a punt, pass and kick competition with Razorback athletes and home tours, according to Harvey McCone, Genesis House executive director. There will also be opportunities to donate during the event and to volunteer paint trim, starting at 9 a.m. on Aug. 25.
Genesis House has long been a day shelter for the homeless that provides people with a place to take showers, do laundry, have a hot meal, use the phone and get referrals to other agencies. They have also provided limited emergency housing through hotel vouchers in the past. The new tiny houses will allow Genesis House to provide families, especially those with children, a more long-term solution, McCone said.
From the very beginning, building the houses has been a community effort, McCone and Drake said. East Kenwood Baptist Church, pastored by Jeremy Wiggington, had the vision for the tiny houses and provided the land. Mark and Diane Simmons donated $100,000 for the construction of the homes.
John Brown University engineering students entered a competition to come up with the design for the homes, and local businesses, nonprofits and youth groups have donated volunteer hours, in-kind services and discounted materials to the project. The city and Chamber of Commerce have also shown a great deal of support, McCone said.
Project manager Dave Lillich has been very helpful at coordinating the efforts and lives in a tiny home himself, Drake said.
"We feel like it's definitely been a community coming together for a cause," she said.
The four tiny houses are about 70 percent complete and are expected to be completely finished in 45 to 60 days, Drake said. The homes range in size from 400 to 600 square feet and sleep up to six people, using a combination of double beds, bunk beds and a sofa sleeper.
The four tiny houses are an extension of Genesis House JumpStart program, Drake said. The program houses families for a 90-day period to give them time to become self-sustainable. A caseworker meets with the family each week to give them accountability steps to help them get out of whatever situation they are facing.
"This is kind of a landing spot to launch them into self-sustainability," Drake said.
Currently the program houses families in rental properties in Gentry and Siloam Springs. During the first year, it served 12 families and is on track to serve 12 more families this year. Moving the program to the new tiny homes will allow it to be more financially sustainable and to serve up to 16 families a year.
Mark and Diane Simmons have offered another $100,000 grant for the project, but are asking Genesis House to raise $100,000 in matching funds, Drake said. So far, the organization has raised more than $50,000 from local businesses and organizations, and is now reaching out to individuals in the community to raise the remaining amount.
The additional funds would allow for the construction of four more housing units.
"If we reach our goals and exceed them even, there will be eight transitional housing units so that could service a total of 32 families a year in the program," Drake said.
A social media fundraising campaign will be launched during the open house on Aug. 25.
For more information about the event or the project, visit genesishousesiloam.com or call 479-549-3438.
General News on 08/19/2018