Learning caring and compassion for those less fortunate, one tiny house at a time. That’s how a group of students in Kitchener, Ontario Canada are choosing to spend their 2020 summer vacation. In a program sponsored by the parishioners at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, these kind kids are converting tiny sheds into 10 brightly-colored, livable spaces. These will be offered to people making the transition from the streets back to a more stable life, providing a much-needed bridge between tent living, and life in a place with so much more responsibility.
Tiny Homes For Homeless – A Caring Transition
Much like St. Mary’s, the church that I grew up in as a young girl had a strong mission toward helping the homeless. Every Saturday, my mom would make great big pots of soup, then we would all pile in the car to drive it to the soup kitchen downtown, where we would serve those less fortunate than us. I was lucky during my growing up years, that I had a chance to develop such strong feelings of compassion for the marginalized among us. I was also afforded a chance to develop an understanding of how they live… or more accurately, how they come to survive. Life on the streets is not living, it’s very much survival.
As you might expect, when you are homeless, what’s familiar is good. Vigilance is good. You don’t want to get too comfortable or lose touch with the fact that the street, and all the dangers it holds, is right there waiting to swallow you up. Don’t blink.
One year my parents invited two homeless men to Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We shared a wonderful feast and spent the whole afternoon and evening enjoying each other’s company. Part of the invitation to dinner was an invitation to sleep over in the spare room and on the couch. But when bedtime came, both men chose to sleep outside, in November, on our front porch.
Both of them had the same reason. They didn’t know what to do with the luxury of a bed. They wanted to stick with what was familiar: the unyielding cold ground.
Tiny home volunteer Maria-Fernanda Torres-Ceron definitely understands this crucial point, and that’s why this project is such a great idea. “When people go from a tent or the street to an apartment really fast they get overwhelmed sometimes,” she said. “What they were telling us is this is a really great in-between step. People can get used to a roof, living inside and having a property of their own.”
Cute, Colorful Tiny Homes For The Homeless
Though it’s a delicate process, making a successful transition from living on the streets to having a roof over one’s head again, it’s an empowering one too. The volunteers are having fun with converting these sheds into colorful and inspiring places for people to find a new way of living. “We’re doing insulation, drywall, painting them some really fun colors,” says volunteer Amandi Perera.
Honing their skills with the toolbelt, and offering their fellow man a hand-up in life when they need it most. What an awesome way to spend a summer! I know from experience that they will carry this special time with them throughout their lives. It will just keep offering them a unique perspective from which to find care and compassion for others, time and time again.
