TULSA, Okla. — A tiny homes community providing housing for the chronically homeless population in Tulsa plans to open it's first few homes by late July.
About 150 individuals have applied to be residents of Eden Village of Tulsa, in west Tulsa. Of the 63 total houses planned to open for unhoused Tulsan's, 18 are fully funded.
Founder Brad Johnson hopes to be able to have the first nine homes complete, and ready for their new residents by late summer.
But he doesn't want to give the applicants false hope.
"We are building these in pods of nine homes," said Johnson. "We hope to have four of those done this year, we’ll see. Things really have to click and fall into place on various fronts, including the weather. The weather has not been friendly to folks in construction this month, but we'll get there."
Johnson's goal is to have the first 45 homes done by the end of this year. The last 18 he hopes will be finished by spring of 2025.
Previous Coverage: Eden Village to become next tiny homes community in Tulsa
In order to achieve his goals, though, Johnson said he needs some help.
"This is a community problem so I think the whole community needs to come together to make this happen," said Johnson.
It's been a slow moving process, and would go a lot quicker, Johnson said if more hands were at work.
Johnson challenged more than foundations and non-profits to get these homes developed, but churches, businesses, individuals and families as well.
“The faster we can get this done and begin to move people out from under and out in the woods to live in a safe dignified community, we all benefit from that,” he said.
He and just a few volunteers are handling all of the labor. They're even painting the community center themselves to save about five thousand dollars.
Since 2 News last stepped on the property in January, a big development is the now standing Helmerich Community Center.
The space will provide resources so residents can be successful individuals, and learn to live independently.
"Agencies such as Family and Children’s Services, Good Samaritan Health Care and other churches and organizations will be coming in to the private offices and doing what they do best and serving the needs of our customers or our residents, which, the needs are great, as we know," said Johnson.
Right now, Eden Village partners are matching every $25,000 donation, which is half of what it costs to fully fund one home.
As for a timeline, Eden Village hopes to open the first nine tiny homes by end of July to mid August.
The next phase is to complete four pods of 36 homes, complete by years end. Rounding out the last 27 homes by spring of 2025.
Beyond just financial support, there are volunteer opportunities to get involved with in Eden Village's mission.
To learn more and to help the chronically homeless, visit their website.
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