A tiny homes community to help people who are homeless

INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Right now, it’s a large field of grassland and a wooded area mostly hidden from the road by a line of trees.

But the hope is that soon this pasture off of 38th Street on the far east side will represent hope for people experiencing homelessness.

Sanctuary Indy, a nonprofit that serves the city’s chronically homeless population, plans to build a community of 27 tiny homes on the 5-acre site at 10200 E. 38th St. And it could be the first of more to come, with the organization’s goal to build similar communities in each quadrant of the city.

Sanctuary Indy is designing the project as a permanent supportive housing model, which provides people stability by combining housing with other long-term services such as health care.

Sanctuary Indy founder and President Michelle Shelburne said the organization has some funding for the $3.2 million project but will need to raise more in the coming months to finish the community.

The project comes at a time when the homeless population in Indianapolis remains stubbornly high. It’s a trend that includes people experiencing chronic homelessness — generally defined as someone who has been homeless for at least a year.

Shelburne is all too familiar with the challenge, having worked for years as an assessor for the city’s system that helps people find housing and shelter.

Shelburne has heard countless stories from people about evictions, family troubles, drug issues and more.

“There’s gotta be a better way for us to handle this,” she said.

That’s what Shelburne hopes the tiny homes community can become.

How the community will work

The idea behind building a cluster of tiny homes, Shelburne said, is to give people a safe community where they feel like they belong.

Homes wouldn’t be larger than 399 square feet. A conceptual design of the project shows the tiny homes in rows with a short walkway leading to a covered porch.

Residents would pay 30% of their income toward rent, which includes utilities. Households spending more than that on living expenses are considered cost-burdened, according to the Nation Low Income Housing Coalition.

The 27-home project would be divided into three communities, with the first prioritizing veterans.

Shelburne said residents for all three communities would come from the city’s coordinated entry system, which connects people to housing and other services.

[How to get on the coordinated entry list]

Each community would have someone who’s paid to live there and be a mentor for residents and help them build a sense of community. Case managers also would be available for residents.

The goal is to break ground next year, Shelburne said, though some hurdles remain — including finding a co-developer and securing more funding.

When completed, though, it wouldn’t just be the residents who benefit.

Kionna Walker, the architect for the project, is using the community to teach students who are part of her organization, Next Great Architects.

Students will spend a week coming up with designs and building scale models for the tiny homes.

The actual design of the homes is still a work in progress, Walker said, but the students’ work could find a way into this project or other projects in the future.

Either way, students may soon see the real-life impact of this work as the city and service providers try to help people off of the street and into homes.

‘We need help’

James Fry knows how badly people in his position need this type of housing project.

Fry, 67, has been homeless for about seven months. He stays in the area around 38th Street and Mitthoeffer Road, and he estimated that there’s a community of about 10 people around that intersection experiencing homelessness.

“We need help right away,” Fry said as he stood in a gas station parking lot asking people if they could spare a few dollars.

Fry said he had a hard time finding a job after he got out of jail. He lost his only jacket recently, which makes any chilly, rainy nights even worse.

Fry said he tries to pick up small jobs — picking up trash, mowing yards — to bring in some money. But it’s not enough.

Help is hard to come by, he said, and a lot of people aren’t sure where they should go to get assistance with housing and other resources.

But the tiny homes community could offer the help Fry and others need.

“It’s a lot of us out here,” he said before shuffling across the street and into the next parking lot.

Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick.