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- Each tiny house costs about $10,000 to produce, making the village space- and cost-effective
- VA offers clean slate to homeless Coast Guard Veteran
- They also come stocked with food and necessities, which veterans can have replenished as needed
- Honeywell builds ADA compliant tiny home for disabled homeless veterans
Sadly, privacy has become an issue here, and signs are posted to keep unnecessary visitors away from the area. Their goal is to build a village of tiny homes to house homeless Veterans in the Kansas City area. The Veteran, when given a home in the village, would essentially get to keep everything in the home. So, when they transition out of the village into their next home, they can take their fridge, bed, towels, etc., along with them.
Everyone who works at the VCP has some sort of connection with Stout, and flow out of each other’s offices contently, as they knew that their presence would never be a bother. The Intel Brief provides monthly updates on projects, volunteer opportunities, events & stories of the Veterans we've served. From providing housing to offering walk-in support services, we’re here for everyone who took the oath to serve America. Since they’ve opened their doors, VCP has assisted both male and female veterans from all branches of the military. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes.
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He was one of those veterans who chose not to live in a homeless shelter. The space is small but when they are in it , it is all theirs. They are fully-furnished homes offering each vet a private, comfortable space to themselves.
The Veteran’s Community Project is made up of what they describe as, “veterans helping veterans”, and has been involved in many projects which seek to end homelessness and neglect in veteran communities. Their idea of building tiny economical homes for the homeless has been very well received so far. The VCP Village offers 49 tiny homes and a wide range of support services for veterans seeking a path out of homelessness.
Each tiny house costs about $10,000 to produce, making the village space- and cost-effective
As many as 400 Honeywell employees are veterans, and that's why these former U.S. military service men and women have a heart for helping homeless veterans right here in Kansas City. Stouts’ tiny home project is a great start for homeless veterans. In fact, the VA reported a 5.4% decrease in 2018 from the previous year. Perhaps we can thank efforts like those of the VCP for this positive change. In fact, the rest of the country may do well to follow suit with other homeless demographics. After his Marine Corps service, Jamison was working with homeless veterans and their homeless shelters.
Even if the homeless veteran has a source of income as they find work and begin their transition back into society, they pay nothing. Walking into the Veterans Community Project feels more like walking into a family member’s house, not an office. A secretary greets guests at the door, with a candle burning and candy and Chapstick ready for guests to grab. The entire office was renovated in 2014 by Stout, the organization’s CEO, and his partners Kevin Jamison and Vincent Morales, in just 28 days. According to Kansas City’s41 Action News, work is not yet complete at the village. At the end of 2018, there were 26 homes, andFox 4 Newsreports that Chris Stout plans to open even more homes this year once they can begin building in the spring.
VA offers clean slate to homeless Coast Guard Veteran
The real turning point for him and his partners was when a veteran they were helping needed $200 dollars to be able to stay in his apartment. Stout and his peers knew exactly how to get that money for him, but before they were able to get it, the veteran’s landlord kicked him out in the middle of the day. Stout, Jamison, and Morales worked for 211-emergency call service when they met.
When the Veteran is ready, VCP assists him or her in securing a permanent housing solution. Not only does the Veteran take the entire contents of the tiny house with them, they take the ongoing support of the Village as well. Many alumni return for weekly Veterans Coffee Bar and other social activities.
Tiny Home Projects Are Expanding, Offering Homeless Veterans Independence And Security
A nearby community centre, still under construction, will host classes and counseling aimed at helping veterans readjust to their lives and cope with trauma. The goal of the Veterans Community Project is to serve as many as 200 homeless veterans in Kansas City through a holistic community approach, which includes providing temporary housing and job assistance. FacebookIn Kansas City, they are currently projecting to build 49 tiny homes in a community.
With the help of Honeywell, the Veterans Community Project added its first American with Disabilities Act- compliant tiny home for homeless veterans with disabilities. A crew of Honeywell volunteers built the home over a two-day build schedule. Many of the volunteers were part of Honeywell’s Veterans Employee Group, which celebrates employees’ service to our military as well as help recruit new employees transitioning out of the military. There’s a community building and an outreach center, where residents can link up with veterans service providers as they work to find stable housing, employment and health care. There are also plans to house other veteran service organizations — a sort of one-stop shop for veterans who may lack reliable transportation.
That, coupled with a jarring return to civilian life, sent him into a downward spiral that ended with homelessness. US Army Corporal Chris Stout took a serious look around him after returning home from Afghanistan with an injury. He found work assisting other veterans that suffered from homelessness, and saw much of what the system lacked. In 2015, he founded the Veterans Community Project to make affect real change. Since 2009, after being released from prison with a felony conviction, White Hawk has lived homeless, unable to find a job.
Veterans living here are given training for future jobs as well as medical appointments, counseling and drug rehab as needed. They want each veteran to have as much time as needed to be able to adjust while living in their tiny homes. However, they instituted a loose two-year maximum “rule” for living there. Stout said this motivated him to help these homeless veterans. In addition to transitional housing, VCP also operates a Veteran’s Outreach Center “to provide walk-in support services” for local veterans.
And there are plans to expand — both in Kansas City and across the country. Zoe is a professional web writer with more than five years of experience in the field. She studied English literature and Shakespeare at Southern Utah University and currently works full time as a lead writer/editor for multiple websites and company knowledge bases. Her main platform of work is focused on the topics of health and wellness, but she has also written for blogs and online retail catalogs. In her extra time, Zoe runs a personal editing service for other freelance and self-publishing authors. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported 555,742 people across the U.S. were experiencing homelessness on a single night.
However, the provisions under these programs rarely present a permanent, sustainable solution to meet the needs of these men and women. Thankfully, members of our own communities are stepping up to make greater changes in the lives of homeless veterans. Preston and Stout examine the inside of a tiny house built for homeless veterans. Each home costs approximately $10,000 and comes with furniture, appliances, dishes, linens and food. The Veterans Community Project’s mission is to provide the means for homeless veterans to get off the street and back on their feet to lead productive lives and contribute to society and the community. But most importantly, its still your castle, regardless the size.
Remember, homeless veterans suffer from depression, and are not thinking like we are. They are doing each build in phases of 10 to help the veterans adjust more easily, and there will be 50 homes on the KC property when finished. They are currently at Phase Two of the Tiny Homes project in Kansas City, which brings the current number to about 20 homes.
With luck and some hard work, we can hope for a similar change to be made across the country. The new community center originally was an old abandoned service station that needed a total renovation to make the building habitable. Stout said the first tiny house they attempted to build was essentially a garden shed they converted, but the structure did not meet the building codes for occupancy. The dynamic trio learned many valuable construction lessons on that first house which later set them up for success by supervising volunteers as more houses were constructed. Learning from these experiences, Jamison discovered that homeless shelters were not the place where all homeless veterans wanted to live.
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