GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On Monday, Mel Trotter Ministries celebrated the completion of two new tiny homes in Hope Village, built as part of a workforce development program aimed at helping people currently experiencing homelessness.
The new affordable housing units range from 400 to 530 square feet and were constructed by those with Next Step of West Michigan’s carpentry program.
“We just finished building two complete, finished tiny homes, and we’re just showing our community the work that we’ve been putting through,” said Darion Boyd, a carpentry community builder with Next Step of West Michigan.
Boyd showed FOX 17 one of the under-construction units, saying it's roughly 80-95% complete.
"We’re just so proud that we’re able to teach participants in our training program how to build and actually make a beautiful product," says Boyd.
Chris Palusky, CEO of Mel Trotter Ministries, said the project pairs construction training with job-readiness instruction. “We have our workforce development arm, which is Next Step. So in Next Step, we help people to learn the basic skills of soft skills of how to interview, of how to do a resume, how to work in the workplace... But we also teach people how to build houses from the ground up,” he said.
Palusky added that the program addresses both employment and housing needs.
“We’ve seen more people come into homelessness in the past decade than, well, at least for my lifetime,” Palusky said, stressing that the lack of available housing makes projects like the tiny homes especially important. “Places like this are extremely important for individuals, for families, especially people who are just going through a speed bump in their lives.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who attended the event, called the homes “life-changing.”
“Having a place to rest your head at night, knowing that you’re safe and secure, impacts your health, your mental health. It impacts your child’s ability to go to school and perform,” Gov. Whitmer said. “An affordable place to call home is foundational to the American dream, and it’s important to individual dignity."
In total, the project will create 16 stand-alone housing units on 1.65 acres of land. Mel Trotter hopes to complete up to ten of the tiny homes by the end of the year.
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