Mike Cohoon gives a tour in November of the newest “tiny home” at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls. The portable homeless shelter, donated by an area AMVETS organization, is large enough to hold a family with several children.

Mike Cohoon gives a tour in November of the newest “tiny home” at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls. The portable homeless shelter, donated by an area AMVETS organization, is large enough to hold a family with several children.

CHIPPEWA FALLS — Hope Village — Tiny Housing Alternatives announced Thursday it has received a $750,000 pledge.

The Edward & Hannah M. Rutledge Charities and William J. & Gertrude R. Casper Foundation of Chippewa Falls have pledged the money towards the $2.7 million capital campaign.

“The thoughtful and generous lead gift of $750,000 from the Casper and Rutledge organizations to the Welcome Home Capital Campaign brings the Hope Village vision of ‘a community free from homelessness’ closer to reality,” said Dick Hebert, one of the four campaign co-chairs, in a press release. “I feel confident the $2.7 million goal is attainable and within our sights.”

Campaign co-chair Mark Reams added: “We are excited the Casper Foundation and Rutledge Charities have decided to partner with Hope Village. The financial sustainability that is built into this organization’s plan is what those of us working on this campaign believe is best for our community and the people being served by the project. It is evident the foundation directors also believe in the fiscal solvency built into the plan.”

Since 2016, Hope Village has built 10 tiny houses to provide transitional housing. The “Welcome Home” campaign would create a neighborhood of tiny houses and affordable housing duplexes and six-plex units, with a playground, pavilion, community center and garden. More than 60 volunteers on five committees are providing input and assistance to establish the foundation for a successful capital campaign. Crescendo Fundraising Professionals LLC has been hired to manage the campaign.

Last year, Hope Village received an $872,997 state grant, which will allow the group to remodel a community building and finalize plans to move all tiny homes into one central location. The organization has purchased a former dental clinic at 1825 Kennedy Rd. on the East Hill of Chippewa Falls, and the three-acre parcel behind the building. The money includes $120,000 that is earmarked for motel vouchers for the homeless.

The plan includes allowing up to 10 tiny homes to be placed behind the building, with the dental offices gutted and renovated, and adding showers and bathrooms; that building also will have a kitchen area, offices and a community room. The long-term plan includes constructing apartment units on the site as well. The Chippewa Falls City Council approved a rezoning measure in February 2021 that allows the Hope Village to move forward on that site.

Currently, the tiny homes in use are scattered outside churches, with just two at each location. However, the goal has always been to bring them into one central location, allowing more oversight, as well as providing bathrooms and showers.

A tiny home is mobile, built on a trailer, featuring a chemical toilet, heater, chair, table and bed. Each house costs between $5,000 and $7,000 to complete, between construction and furnishings. Most of the units already completed and in use are 8-by-12 feet or 8-by-15 feet in size.

Since the Tiny Homes began being used in the city, more than 95 guests have used the shelters from 59 different households, equating to 7,519 nights of stays, saving more than $625,000 in motel vouchers, the organization said in a press release.

According to the permit the City Council approved in 2017, the portable toilet must be emptied daily in the church’s bathroom. It also states there is a zero-tolerance policy on illegal activities, and alcohol, illegal drugs and guns or other weapons are banned from the homes.

Chippewa Falls hasn’t had a homeless shelter since the Harmony House closed in February 2014. The Chippewa Falls Mission Coalition, a group of 17 area churches, has been working on ways to fill the void since Harmony House closed.

To learn more about the capital campaign, visit hopevillagechippewafalls.org.

Contact: chris.vetter@ecpc.com

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