Area churches, Illinois Wesleyan University, a local contractor, and the Springfield-based Matthew Project have collaborated on a model home project with a miniscule scale but an impressive mission.
The initial construction phase of the Tiny House Project was near completion Wednesday behind IWU’s McPherson Theater. The small home – designed for the homeless based on similar structures built across the nation – will be transported to Bloomington’s First Christian Church for interior finishing and display as a possible concept for providing shelter for the homeless.
First Christian Associate Minister Kelley Becker, a member of the Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal steering committee, ramped up the search for options for the Twin Cities’ homeless individuals following the eviction of 14 men from a “tent city” on a private lot off Market Street. She and Wesleyan theater set and scenic design professor Curtis Trout were intrigued by the tiny house – portable, easily constructed, equipped with air conditioning and heat to protect against the elements. Trout joined with local construction specialist Mike Robinson and his wife Julie – partners in the non-profit King’s Carpenters, a mission that has helped build churches and homes across the country and in Mexico – and the Matthew Project Church Extension Fund and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church of Bloomington.
The City of Bloomington is cooperating with the project.
For information on the Tiny House Project, visit this Saturday’s West Side Back-to-School Block Party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at First Christian, 401 W. Jefferson, or see the Tiny House Project Facebook Page.