Business and civic leaders pushed for the last 19 months, and now an empty tract that once served as a city park became Augusta’s first tiny home community.
A ribbon-cutting was held to mark the opening of 25 tiny homes on Merry Street. They will be used to support teens aging out of foster care with no resources to begin the next phase of their lives.
Dr. Jackson and ShDonna Drumgoole from Bridge Builders Community (BBC) spearheaded development of the village.
“We were pushing this rock up the hill, you know, not knowing that we had the traction,” he told ABD. “But all of a sudden, once we started sharing the story, making folks aware of what we were doing and why we were doing it, the rock got so big that we got behind the rock, and now we’re rolling downhill.”
Dozens attended the opening ceremony. Speakers and audience members reflected the overall mission of the community, including Dr. Kendricks Hooker, president of Augusta Technical College, and Robert Kelly, vice president of Augusta Staffing. In addition to fully equipped housing, it will provide educational and vocational outcomes, workforce development partnerships, healthcare, and life skills coaching.
Among the speakers was Joe Gambill, chair of the BBC board and owner of Virgo Gambill Architects.
“We have a great board of directors who have embraced our mission,” he told those assembled. “They have taken it on personally. They’ve given their time, their talents. This is not a board that sits. This is a board that works, and you see the fruits of their labor.”
A young woman identified only as Sarah, part of the BBC Youth Advisory Council, said she had faced homelessness when she aged out of foster care with no support network. Her lifeline was joining the U.S. Navy and training as a linguist. Ultimately stationed at Fort Gordon, she contacted the local foster care system, asked how to help, and was introduced to Dr. Drumgoole.
“That’s when he told me about the Bridge Builders community,” she explained. “It’s about all of the youth who are going to be coming through. It’s about this entire community, what we’re doing right here. We don’t have anyone in the homes yet, but the change has already started, because what we’re doing is we’re breaking down the stigma that just because these foster youths are coming from broken homes, that doesn’t mean that they’re broken.”
The community is in county commission district one, represented by Jordan Johnson. He was also a member of the commission’s homeless task force and a leader in creating the ordinance allowing tiny home communities. His comments became poignant when he honored the late Lynda Barrs, a leader on the task force.
“Lynda Barrs was an advocate for the homeless in our community. We went down to Savannah, and we saw their tiny home village,” he recalled. “On the way back to Augusta, she just kept saying, ‘We can do this in Augusta. We can do this in Augusta.’ I went to Mayor (Hardie) Davis. He was on board. The commission was on board, and we were able to get this ordinance passed.”
The village is made up of pods with five homes each. They are designed like a studio apartment with appliances and furniture provided.
“We’re going to take in our first cohort here at the end of this month,” said Drumgoole. “We have 60 kids currently on the waiting list, trying to get into these homes. So, right now, we’re continuously vetting the young adults to find the next tranche of young adults.”
More information and how to apply for a tiny home is at: www.bridgebuildercommunities.org
