In Brunswick, Georgia, a new tiny home village composed of 30 tiny houses and a community center has just opened to serve local veterans facing homelessness.
All of the structures that make up the community? They were built by Chicago’s Northwest Suburban High School District 214 students.
It all started a few years ago when Megan Hostler, the president and CEO of the Nine Line Foundation, connected with Rolling Meadows High School teacher Dave Wietrzak.
Down the road, Wietzrack and teachers from Buffalo Grove High School embarked on a 20-home project with their Geometry Through Construction students.
“The kids got so into it, and it turned into a great civics lesson,” Hostler told The Daily Herald. “I would send information about the foundation and the veterans we’re helping, and Jimmy (Miks, a John Hersey High School English teacher) and Dave can turn anything into a learning lesson.”
The District 214 students even raised funds to help pay to send the tiny homes on their 1,052-mile trip to Georgia.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was well underway but was put on hold until 2022, when students built an additional 10 tiny houses — along with an even bigger challenge.
They also set out to build the 30-by-60-foot community center that is central to the veterans’ neighborhood. The space allows residents to gather and socialize, as well as participate in counseling and therapy sessions, take continuing education courses, and receive support services.
With help from a volunteer veteran construction manager and a pro architect, the students and teachers built the community center in just two days as a capstone project for students in a Construction Management and Building Trades career pathway.
After successfully completing the build, it was disassembled and shipped off to become a part of the Golden Isles Veteran Village states away.
“At first, the students’ attitude is ‘Oh, we’re just building stuff.’ But then they realize they’re not just building things; they’re changing lives,” Sean Murrin, a Buffalo Grove High School teacher, told The Daily Herald.
“That’s what I love most about this.”
While none of the students or teachers who built the structures were present for the village’s grand opening ceremony in March of this year, Hostler said their legacy will leave a lasting impression on the community.
Fundraising paver bricks will be installed on the site’s memorial area and will recognize each participating school district, as well as the participating teachers. A handcrafted wooden American flag made by Seth Hettle of Prospect High School will also be on display.
All of the details that went into the property are part of what Hostler hopes will lead to success.
“It is a matter of reaching out and providing a hand up, not a hand out,” she said.
The Nine Line Foundation website echoes these sentiments: “By addressing the needs of the veterans, this transitional housing program, combined with the educational and job training opportunities made available … it will help them transition from the battlefield, out of homelessness, and on to a brighter future.”
Header image courtesy of Nine Line Foundation
