The Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition is looking to break ground on its tiny home village at 62 Airline Road within the next few months, following the Columbus City Council unanimously voting to donate about two acres to the group during its Tuesday meeting.
“We’ll have to prepare the land, which shouldn’t take long,” said Susan Garton, president for the GTRHC board. “Once the land is prepped, we should see some type of progress within six months, at least three or four tiny homes. … By 2024, we would have 75 to 90 percent of everything done.”
The request for the land was brought before the council at its Feb. 7 meeting but was tabled until council members could visit a similar site in Nashville, Tennessee. Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens and Ward 4 Councilman Peirre Beard visited that site earlier this month and reported favorably to the council.
“That trip was very productive,” Mickens said during the meeting. “I’m on board.”
The land is located between Fire Station 4 and the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society.
It will house people who are homeless with the aim of them becoming progressively more independent and getting back on their feet.
The homes will have a bathroom, a bed, a kitchen with a stove top and an eating area. Three styles of home will be built: One for either one or two people; a second variation for up to four people; and a home designed to be handicapped-accessible.
Funding is in place for six or seven of the 10 planned homes through various grants, according to Garton.
“It means that we can better provide for the Lowndes County region,” Garton said. “For so long, all we’ve had is Columbus Housing Authority or even Mississippi Regional Housing Authority (facilities), but their back up list is months and months, even going into years, long. … This is really going to help assess those individuals that need immediate shelter.”
The group is deciding what contractor to hire to build the homes, Garton said.
Columbus is donating the two acres as an in-kind match, valued at $7,500, for grant money the coalition has received, which City Attorney Jeff Turnage said was allowed under state law.
“The deed contains a clause that if the land ceases to be used for social/community service, title reverts back to the city,” Turnage said during Tuesday’s meeting.
City Engineer Kevin Stafford said his firm, Neel-Schafer, will survey the land pro bono.
Mayor Keith Gaskin touted the move as a major step in the process of battling homelessness.
“(GTRHC) has been working on the tiny homes program for many years, and there’s the potential of having a warming/cooling station in the area as well,” Gaskin said at his Wednesday press conference. “I think people sometimes think that homelessness is only happening in very large cities, but that’s very much not true. We have a homeless issue in Columbus and Lowndes County, and it’s not just people you see lying on the streets or sleeping in vacant buildings or things like that. These are people you pass every day on the way to work, or are sofa surfing or all kinds of things that are going on. We have had a dedicated group of people at the homeless coalition who are working non-stop trying to assess these individuals.”
He added that the city has limited resources, and having nonprofits addressing the issue is key.
“It’s a win for everybody when the city can come together with nonprofits in helping those in our community that need a hand up,” he said.
GTRHC members are overjoyed to officially begin construction on the project that has been brewing for years. Garton said it wouldn’t have been possible without the city.
“We are really grateful for (the city) and them wanting to better the City of Columbus,” she said. “It means a lot to us and the community as well.”
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