Tiny-home veterans village nearly ready for first residents

In a matter of weeks, the first veterans and their families could be living in a tiny-home village beginning to take shape in northwest Sioux Falls.

The first five homes built by the Veterans Community Project – with lots of volunteer help – are entering their last phase of construction.

But even though the walls are painted, the plumbing and fixtures are in and even the internet is up and running, “we’re not going to force anything” when it comes to people moving in, executive director Eric Gage said.

“Our program is set up to give people who are truly ready the best shot, and we don’t want to set them up for failure,” he said. “We’re not going to move somebody in that isn’t ready or a good fit just because we have a space.”

Instead, the program’s Kansas City-based team will come to Sioux Falls and work with local referral partners to identify homeless veterans who might be a good fit for the homes.

The idea is “to find people ready to make that change in their lives,” Gage said. “They (the referral partners) are very excited for us to come online and know who would be served.”

When veterans and their families do agree to move in, they’ll find a 320-square-foot, family-style home waiting for them, including a full kitchen and bathroom with a shower.

Bedrooms will be designed to fit the family style, including bunk beds if there are kids. Two of the homes are ADA-accessible.

“We work out the specifics of how the house functions after we know the makeup of the family,” Gage said.

Each house also includes 186 items when a person moves in, and everything is new.

“We really focus on housing with dignity and giving everyone we serve the same start,” Gage said. “So everything is the same, and when they complete the program, the contents of the house leave with them.”

That’s another key point: This isn’t designed as permanent housing. The idea is that veterans move into the homes while receiving wrap-around support services designed to move them into permanent housing.

The Sioux Falls program is close to announcing a veteran service director who will oversee that part of the program.

The village is at 376 N. Willow Ave. on property donated by the city of Sioux Falls. A team of city employees found the model for the veterans tiny-home project while working through a leadership development program.

Once the first five family homes are done, others will continue with construction. The hope is for 15 houses to be done by the end of the year, including smaller homes designed for individuals.

“The houses are currently being constructed at the Harrisburg High School facility, and they’ll be transferred,” Gage said. “There are three single units almost complete at the Harrisburg High School building program, and those three will make their way here, and hopefully we can get them transferred before school is out so the kids can be part of it.”

A ribbon-cutting for the first houses is scheduled for Monday, May 8. The hope is people can be living in them by mid-June, though there are still some construction-related variables.

Gage emphasized the impact volunteer help has had in getting to this point.

“It’s been huge,” he said. “Getting people involved is really what we’re all about.”

There are plenty of ways to do that, he added. Volunteers have weekly opportunities to help on-site, anyone can shop this Target wish list to help furnish the houses, and later this year the Veterans Community Project will be the appeal campaign for the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce. That effort will help construct the support buildings to serve veterans at the village.

In the meantime, fundraising continues for operating dollars.

“Even though we need to build houses and support building, we still have payroll to make and an electric bill to pay and all the services we provide that have to be privately fundraised,” Gage said.

To connect with the Veterans Community Project, click here.