A Permanent Home: A master-planned community of micro homes
Homelessness has become part of our shared landscape—an invisible crisis that we’re almost trained to overlook. According to Sam Tsemberis, the originator of the Housing First model in the US, humans have to essentially shut down our own humanity to be able to walk by another human being experiencing homelessness. For many of us, it probably feels like a problem too big to tackle alone. But among the many dedicated organizations addressing homelessness in Austin, Texas, Mobile Loaves & Fishes did not walk by. They saw the need and responded by creating Community First! Village, a place of community and transformation for those who have been experiencing chronic homelessness.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines chronic homelessness as when an individual has been experiencing homelessness for a year or more, or having at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years. Community First! Village is designed for individuals coming out of chronic homelessness by offering affordable, permanent housing. A master-planned community of micro homes, The Village has been intentionally designed to encourage community. Each home has a front porch, and homes are clustered around common areas with laundry rooms, restroom and shower facilities, outdoor community kitchens and green space. These shared areas encourage interactions among neighbors, helping them form relationships and build community. Along with housing, they also offer multiple programs that help get neighbors back on their feet. Through the Community Works program, residents are able to rediscover a purpose and apply their unique talents to earn a dignified income. Shelia, a neighbor at The Village, says, “Living here has brought change to my life, and now I am able to help somebody else. This is how to build a community.”
HomeAid Austin has partnered with Community First! Village since 2018, and through our builder relations, has built over 36 micro homes since. Our goal with Community First! Village is to keep supporting The Village and the neighbors there. Thanks to donations from Taylor Morrison and Texas Capital, HomeAid Austin purchased and installed a Greenhouse where neighbors can cultivate their own food and plants, while also earning an income. Aside from construction, The Village is one of our favorite places to hold Care Days! Our builder partners love to come out and interact with the neighbors by landscaping around their homes or putting together Essential Kits. It is such a great opportunity for our donors to see first-hand the importance and effect of their partnership with HomeAid Austin. As we look to the future, we plan to keep building at Community! First Village. Taylor Morrison Austin Division President, April Whitaker expresses her feelings about building at Community First! Village, "We've built five tiny homes over the last several years with HomeAid Austin, and we'll do more out here in 2025 and beyond, as long as there is an opportunity. Getting to come out here and make an impact for people that really need our time and resources is important for us; this mission is just something that's very meaningful to our team beyond the work we do Monday through Friday."
A home is more than just four walls, a bed and a roof over one’s head. Home is a place where individuals experience permanence, where they can belong and where they encounter other benefits that provide a true life-filling experience. Currently more than 380 formerly chronically homeless neighbors have permanence at the Village, and it will soon be a home and community for around 500 individuals who once struggled to survive on the streets of Austin. Our community is lucky to have Community First! Village and all it does to ensure our neighbors experiencing homelessness are seen and not walked past. This Homeless Awareness Month, I challenge you to not walk by, to not let your humanity shrink when faced with something uncomfortable.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other - that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister.” -Mother Teresa
