May 11—CHIPPEWA FALLS — Hope Village — Tiny Housing Alternatives is launching a $2.7 million capital campaign, and has named three co-chairs of the fundraising drive.

Dick Hebert, retired Chippewa Falls parks director, along with Mark Broses, former Short Elliott Hendrickson vice president, and pastor Mark Reams of Jacob's Well Church are leading the effort.

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 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.

"Our belief in the project of Hope Village providing temporary free and low-cost rental housing to unsheltered individuals and families in Chippewa County, is imperative for the community," Hebert explained.

Crescendo Fundraising Professionals LLC has been hired to manage the campaign.

The goal is to ensure guests develop and work toward secure living plan goals, including financial stability, health resource connection and permanent housing, all in a new facility constructed through this project where they can experience community and receive support services efficiently, Hebert said.

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.

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 {span}hopevillagechippewafalls.org{/span}

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