The construction of five tiny homes is underway and will eventually house those experiencing homelessness at the Beloved Community Village in Northeast Denver, a group run by the Colorado Village Collaborative.
The construction crew isn't made up of your typical workers, though.
High schoolers build these homes.
CVC announced that about 40 students from the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus in Centennial will build the homes as part of their studies under the school's Infrastructure Engineering pathway.
"It takes a village to build a village," said CVC Director Cole Chandler. "A lot of trade-based education programs do things like build a shed, which is cool. Kids learn some skills, but then to add the additional social value here of not only are you building this home, but you're learning about the housing crisis, and you're learning about how to be a good member of your community for doing this. It's all really exciting."
The homes are about 100 square feet and come equipped with electricity, air conditioning, heating, storage, a number of windows and a bed. They were designed by Denver architectural firms SAR+ and Shopworks Architecture. Contractor Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. will oversee construction.
The Cherry Creek Innovation Campus opened three years ago and is a trade school that students in the Cherry Creek District attend while taking general courses at their home high school. The campus is considered a college and career preparedness facility with various training programs for health and wellness, IT and STEAM and Infrastructure Engineering.
In the engineering track, students learn the ins and outs of the building industry and gain hands-on experience. They read blueprints, operate forklifts and put hammer to nail.
During the inaugural 2019 school year, teachers went back and forth on what project the students should work on during the school year, said Mike Degitis, an engineering instructor at the school.
And there, the partnership with CVC was hatched.
"We didn't want to build anything that was going to get thrown away," Degitis said. "We wanted to build for the better. I reached out to Cole knowing that these tiny home villages were coming along and I said I've got a crazy idea. What if you let our students at (Cherry Creek Innovation Campus) build the homes on campus? It's the perfect introductory build for a kid who's interested in going into the construction industry."
The school and CVC began working together that year. Even though the school year was cut short due to the pandemic, the students built six houses for CVC's other tiny home community, the Women's Village at Clara Brown Commons in the Cole neighborhood.
The partnership took a hiatus last year due to the hybrid school schedule but Degitis said he's glad the program is up and running again. So are the students.
"Some of the stuff we did last year was a little bit wasted," said second-year student Ben Maki, who attends Grandview High School. "I think it's really cool that we're doing something for the homeless and learning at the same time. [The houses] have a purpose and we're building them for someone to live in."
The homes will be complete by the end of the school year. They'll join 19 existing homes at the Beloved Community, which also has a staff office space and a community center that houses communal bathrooms and a kitchen.
The Community opened in July 2017 with 11 homes. Since then, it expanded, moving to Globeville on Pearl Street in 2019 and adding those eight additional homes.
The lease at Pearl Street ends in April 2022 and the Community will move to Elyria-Swansea on Monroe Street.
The goal of the tiny homes is similar to the safe outdoor spaces CVC also runs: provide the unhoused with homes to create stability, Chandler said.
"We believe people need housing in order to get every other aspect of their life in order," Chandler said. "Imagine living on the streets, living in an encampment, trying to have regular appointments, trying to go get a job, trying to get into housing. All those things are a challenge when you literally don't know where you're going to sleep that night. To provide this safe, stable environment, it just helps people relax... so they can start taking steps forward."
Forty-seven people were served this year and 13 have moved on to permanent housing, he added.
Those people include Joe and Nickole Simons. The couple viewed the home construction during an open house at the school.
"I love watching them being built and I can't wait to see the final product," Nickole Simons laughed.
Before becoming residents of Beloved, the couple bounced around from their car to different relatives' homes. The couple said they couldn't find a shelter where they could be together until Nickole's mother found CVC.
"It's opened up the door for us to get stable," Nickole Simons said. "Just having a roof over our heads and having our needs met. We're able to seek therapy...and [reach stability] with our mental health."
Joe Simons added, "It works perfect because we're able to be together. There's so much positivity being pushed around. I'm excited that we have the potential to add more people to the village."
