Maybe you’ve driven down 12th Street recently and noticed that you can now see the back of the Dollar General on 15th Street! We are making great progress toward getting the Freedom Village grounds cleared and ready for tiny homes. Below, you can see the progression of what that process has looked like.
We owe a special thanks to Steve Houser, who has been instrumental in helping us work through unexpected challenges that have come up over the last few months.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve had at least 10–20 truckloads of dirt brought in to continue elevating the grounds. We’ve watched the land go from being covered in trees to having a field of pointy roots sticking up, and now those roots are buried under piles of dirt. We’ve been systematically spreading dirt throughout the grounds to increase the elevation, which is an important part of the site plans we’ve been following. Already, the area designated for the community center has received enough dirt to raise it approximately two feet from its original elevation.
As for when we’ll have enough dirt in place to begin pouring concrete, we are tentatively looking at the first or second week of December. We are still on track to open the first 24 tiny homes in the spring, and we look forward to the day we welcome our first Freedom Villager!
Watered Gardens is incredibly thankful for people like you who have invested so much time and resources into taking courage and believing that Joplin can become a better place.
Freedom Village will be home to chronically homeless and truly disabled individuals living in Joplin. These individuals deserve more dignified housing solutions than cycling in and out of shelters or waiting for the government to step in without ever really knowing who they are. At Freedom Village, residents will have more than just a tiny home; they will have a community of people around them.
We envision the relationships the Church will be ready to extend, the love that will be poured into each person, and the prayers that will be lifted on their behalf.
While every tiny home will have a resident, every resident has a soul. We are excited about the tiny homes, we love the people who will call them home, but above all, we care deeply about their souls. We think about how Jesus will be made known in this place, and we cannot wait to see how He moves through Freedom Village and transforms the lives of those who call it home.
