Mount Pleasant Tiny Homes is comprised of 19 different organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, and is currently in the process of becoming a non-profit, with the goal of helping Isabella County residents who are struggling with homelessness gain temporary housing by the means of tiny homes.

While the group completes the process, they are raising $997,000 to purchase a lot of land behind Hunter's Ale House to place at least 50 tiny houses and provide temporary homes to around 80 people. Once the process is complete, they may also accept grants that will help them reach their goal.

Amanda Brake, the Mount Pleasant Housing Commission Section 8 Coordinator, tells us that there are some requirements to being accepted to live in tiny homes.

"What we're going to do is create an MOU, a memorandum of understanding with the active organizations that are involved in this entire project. They will look through the folks that are applying. They will choose who they think will be best suited for this project and for this community. And then everyone that comes to us is going to have an action plan, a personal action plan on goals that they want to make sure that they're achieving. That will then lead them stable housing for themselves or their family......Do you want to work through a program that is transitional and assist you in helping you get to those final stages? And if the answer is yes, well, we've check marked a box, Right. And so then when they come in, as the community evolves, a majority of tiny housing projects have a an interview system that they do that the folks that are actually a part of the project, as well as the folks that are working at the project, will go through and do an interview process to make sure that folks are a best fit for the achievement that the community is trying to work toward."

She adds that residents will be able to live in tiny houses for around 2 years, but it all depends on how far along they are in their action plans.

And according to the Executive Director at Habitat for Humanity of Isabella County, it is has been a long time coming.

Kim Friedrich states "We're really excited that this is coming to our community, I think it's a long time coming. You know, we do have Isabella County Restoration House, which provides immediate services to homeless folks in need, But that's not a permanent solution. And Habitat is not an immediate housing solution either. So I think having this tiny homeless project can really fill in that gap for those folks that are really in need in our community. And we're as Habitat just excited to walk alongside them in this project and help in whatever way we can and provide that partnership."

Amanda tells us that as of 2021, there are over 500 people struggling with homelessness in Isabella County alone.

So far, they have raised at least $19,000, and hope to have the house in place by Easter of next year.

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