ST. LOUIS — After months of delays, a long-awaited tiny home village for homeless veterans is on the verge of welcoming its first residents.
Rebecca Tallman, executive director at the Veterans Community Project’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ site, said Wednesday she hopes to welcome the first five veterans into transitional housing within the next 30 days.
They’ll likely be moving into one of a half-dozen homes completed so far on a patch of land off North Grand Boulevard in the city’s Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood.
Tallman said the plan is have 14 more done by the end of the year. Half of the initial 20 homes will be 240-square-foot models for single occupants; the other half will be 320 square feet and designed for families of up to five.
The Veterans Community Project, based in Kansas City, had initially hoped to start welcoming veterans last fall. But a long wait for a electrical junction box at the site’s outreach center threw a wrench in that plan, Tallman said.
People are also reading…
The outreach center, where veterans will be welcome to stop by for food and other resources regardless of whether they live in one of the tiny homes, is done now. Staff moved in six weeks ago, and started preparing in earnest for the first arrivals.
The goal of the village is to offer homeless veterans temporary housing where they can be connected with services and community to help them get back on their feet.
Staffers aim to get the veterans into their own places within two years, Tallman said.
The average stay at Veterans Community Project sites across the country is just over 13 months, and the organization boasts an 85% success rate in getting clients into permanent housing.