'Eden Village' Homeless Outreach Makes Big Impact With Tiny Homes

A housing development of people who were homeless is being developed in West Tulsa, based on a model that originated in Springfield, Missouri.

There, two developments of small homes have opened, with tenants drawn from the chronically homeless.

Each resident pays rent and lives in their own home, in a gated community, with a community center and services available to help them navigate the transition away from homelessness.

The "Eden Village" concept started as a homeless outreach in Springfield, by David and Linda Brown, who are both native Oklahomans.

Working with friends from their church, it turned into a drop-in center. Then it eventually became a community of homes on land that was an abandoned trailer park between an industrial area and a neighborhood.

A group of 19 people from Tulsa who are involved in the Tulsa development toured the grounds there recently, to see the difference a neighborhood like that could make.

"I'd like to see it in Tulsa. It would bless the community," said Pastor Chris Buskirk, of Abiding Harvest Church.

The Browns built a community of small homes, with affordable rent, for people otherwise chronically homeless.

Rickie Beach, who said he was a recovering alcoholic, described how his life changed once he moved into Eden Village.

"I'd be more than likely on the streets, living homeless, or in an apartment, reckless, if it wasn't for this," said Beach.

Stories like that helped inspire Brad Johnson, a retired Tulsa business owner, to start the Tulsa Eden Village, which he hopes to open by the end of 2023.

The Tulsa project will be built on a 17-acre plot on 61st West Avenue, just north of the Arkansas River, and bordering the Gilcrease Turnpike. The land has been purchased and is being cleared.

"We've crossed that huge hurdle, and we're gathering support. We know the need is there, so it's just a matter of getting folks onto our team and getting the community behind this, as I'm sure we will," said Johnson.

Back in Missouri, Nate Schlueter, the "Chief Visionary Officer" for the original Eden Village, told the group from Tulsa that their model can be recreated successfully.

"The way to end homelessness is in a community setting, one home at a time, one individual, one home at a time," said Schlueter. "We think models like Eden Village can be built, and several models need to be built, to end homelessness in Tulsa, just like we're trying to end homelessness in Springfield."

The one in Missouri has given formerly homeless people 40,000 nights of sleep inside of a secure place of their own.

Jeremiah Pruitt said that makes all the difference. "Just to be able to walk in your house and take a shower, to cook. You forget about all that when you're on the streets," he said.

The Springfield development even has an onsite mausoleum for people who live out their lives at Eden Village, then die at home, instead of outside, homeless.

The homes are factory built, each 400 square feet, and some are solar powered. They have one bedroom, one bath, with a small kitchen, dining area, and living room.

Each resident lives alone, but the big front porches encourage community, with supportive help as close as the community center. The Village is gated, with no cars inside, so residents walk or ride bikes.

Lisa Fuller, Director of a homeless outreach, The Ministry, in West Tulsa, liked what she saw. "We see that it works, so I'm exciting about the possibility that Tulsa can have with this community."

Brad Johnson, the Tulsa Eden Village founder, said he believes a lot of doubts about how to help the homeless will be cleared up once the site opens, and people move in and successfully live individually, but together in a new neighborhood.

Click here for information on Tulsa's Eden Village.

Click here for information on Springfield, MO's Eden Village.