Veterans tiny home village races to meet fundraising deadline

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - A June 30 deadline is approaching for a local veterans support group working to raise $300,000 to unlock a $1 million grant from Hamilton County for a tiny home village in Madisonville.

Tiny Homes for Humanity is developing the first-ever veterans village on a three-quarter-acre lot behind Gaines United Methodist Church in Madisonville. The project, a partnership between Gaines and Hyde Park Community Methodist Church, aims to build 14 tiny homes for veterans.

“We are at about the 60% mark right now. So we have made great progress, particularly over the last few months. But the last stretch is where we are here in the home stretch,” said Glenn Welling, executive director of the Hamilton County Veterans Service Commission.

Addressing veteran homelessness

Hamilton County has approximately 37,000 veterans, with roughly 500 experiencing homelessness, according to Welling.

“So this is an opportunity for us to reach out to that group and really extend a hand up to them,” Welling said.

Veterans would transition from temporary housing to stay in the more permanent, supportive community for as long as needed.

Project details

Earl Crossland, president of Tiny Homes for Humanity and a retired architect, is the project developer.

“And this was put on my heart as a calling to do something with my architecture to help homeless people,” Crossland said.

The homes will be 276 square feet inside and measure 13 by 24 feet outside, roughly the size of a studio apartment. Each will include a kitchenette, handicapped accessible bathroom and open living space.

“What’s really nice about it is it’s going to have an actual sloped cathedral ceiling with lots of windows and it’s going to feel much larger than the typical studio apartment,” Crossland said.

Crossland said the homes will provide stability that temporary housing cannot.

“The problem with the temporary housing situations in Cincinnati is that they’re time-limited. So, normally, they can only stay like six, nine months and then they have to move on. This at least gives them the stability to and time to rebuild them their lives,” Crossland said.

Pastor Paula Stewart of Gaines United Methodist Church said the project serves those who served the country.

“And the fact that it’s for veterans even makes it better because folks, they have given their lives, have served our country, and then to be unhoused because of whatever reasons, we think that this is really a great project to support,” Stewart said.

Donations can be made here.

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