BRUNSWICK, Ga. – It’s a new solution to help people afford homes in Glynn County.
A nonprofit is building a tiny home village at the home of the old Altama Presbyterian Church in Brunswick that is designed for people living on the street.
Each tiny home is about 240 square feet and comes completely furnished.
By next month, the space will transform into a gated community with security cameras, an outdoor patio and a garden for residents to tend to.
Carolyn Johnson is the Director of Hand-in-Hand Glynn, the local homeless advocacy nonprofit behind the project.
It’s part of a new program they’re launching to get unhoused people off the street.
“The organization was founded in 2018 by Ann Fimbler. Construction started in 2019 and we now have 60 houses that are completely built and the last few are getting finished,” Johnson said.
The homes have a bed with bedding, a kitchen full of pots and pans and a bathroom with toiletries.
Each home is designed for one person so only 60 individuals will qualify.
“The qualifications are they have to be chronically homeless in Glynn County,” Johnson said. “Chronically homeless is a year of being homeless like the past year or the total of a year over the past three years. And also according to HUD regulations that includes a disability.”
The tiny village is funded solely through donations from the community and will offer more than just free long-term housing.
The group plans to hold financial classes, mental health programs and staff a medical center.
She said the group will also offer an incentive program where residents earn credits through volunteer work.
Every time News4JAX does a story about homelessness, people always ask: Why can’t they just get a job?
Well, it’s a lot more difficult than people think. If you didn’t sleep, you didn’t have good nutrition, you aren’t able to bathe yourself so you can be clean and presentable, or maybe you don’t have an ID or someone robbed you. And that’s only part of the battle for unhoused people.
According to data from End Violence Against Women International, 56% of women and 14% of men who are homeless will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
So the tiny village will also serve as a safe space for one of Glynn County’s most vulnerable populations, a place that they can finally call home.
The tiny village will also include housing for individuals who are handicapped.
The goal is for construction to wrap up by next month but that could vary depending on delays.