Tiny house village plotted for homeless
A cluster of people with experience running charitable efforts to help the homeless have a plan to build a "village" of 15 small houses, each only 200-square-feet, on a church's land just west of Dover.
The nascent effort got a big boost when Victory Church of Dover volunteered its property, in the 2700 block of Forrest Ave., as a site for the homes.
And while the property's neighbors are raising concerns about the endeavor, its backers say they're confident the village will come to fruition.
"In the end, this is happening," said Sue Harris, a founder of Port Hope, the nonprofit group behind the "tiny homes" effort. "For the last 10 years or so, this has been a big mission of mine."
Harris and Cathi Kopera are former members of Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing, but have left that organization to launch the village project. As they envision it, people will occupy the homes by paying sub-market rent, about $200 to $300 monthly. Residents, they say, will have background checks performed first.
"It's basically for the chronically homeless," Kopera said. "The problem is, there just is not affordable housing."
Harris said she was inspired by established tiny home communities for the destitute in other places: Newfield, New York; Olympia, Washington; and Portland, Oregon In each case, the homes are miniscule by American standards – Harris and Kopera have designs that include a standing-room-only bathroom, a workable kitchen and sleeping space.
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," the Port Hope website says. "There is increasing attention being paid to the so-called "tiny house" movement, chronicled by an HGTV series "Tiny House, Big Living."
For pastor Aaron Appling of Victory Church, a chance encounter with Kopera and hearing Port Hope's idea allowed the church to expand its efforts to alleviate homelessness. Already, church members have a daily practice of taking water to homeless people on Dover's streets, and Appling says a family that's struggled with housing is currently staying on the church property.
"There's an overwhelming homelessness problem in Dover that we didn't realize," said the 31-year-old Appling, a Dover native. "It kind of pricked our hearts."
Homeless advocates know they'll likely run up against neighbor opposition when they propose shelters or transitional homes in places where those facilities didn't exist before. In West Rehoboth, a church's effort to create a homeless shelter was shot down by the Sussex County Board of Adjustment this year; the church is appealing the decision in Superior Court.
Neighbors of Victory Church have come forward to protest the village plan.
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"There were no positives from any of the neighbors. This is not the place for this project," said Ray Henriques, a Sharon Hill Road resident, in a pointed message to the organizers. "The only people with any positive response are those that won't have it in their backyard."
Harris said materials for each home come to about $12,000. The donation of the land, and volunteer labor from church members, is keeping costs low, she said, and she said the effort won't depend on government grants or aid.
Appling said he's already met with Kent County officials to discuss the potential zoning variances the property might need to house the homeless. He also said he's scheduled meetings with state legislators. But meanwhile, his parishioners are building a model tiny home on a trailer in the church's parking lot, as a demonstration of what they hope to put on the property.
"No one should have to sleep on a park bench," said Jacob Hull, a carpenter and retired U.S. Air Force airman who was prying nails from a board Friday morning at the work site. "The world shuns people like that. Some people want to stay in that lifestyle, but some don't. I've met them."
Contact James Fisher at (302) 983-6772, on Twitter@JamesFisherTNJorjfisher@delawareonline.com.