Churches across the U.S. are tackling the big question of how to address homelessness in their communities with a small solution: tiny homes.
On vacant plots near their parking lots and steepled sanctuaries, congregations are building everything from fixed and fully contained micro homes to petite, moveable cabins, and several other styles of small-footprint dwellings in between.
Church leaders are not just trying to be more neighborly. The drive to provide shelter is rooted in their beliefs – they must care for the vulnerable, especially those without homes.
“It’s just such an integral part of who we are as a people of faith,” said the Rev. Lisa Fischbeck, former Episcopal vicar and the board chair of Pee Wee Homes, an affordable housing organization building tiny abodes in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Fischbeck led the Episcopal Church of the Advocate when it added three one-bedroom units on its 15-acre campus. The first residents, including the organization’s namesake, Nathaniel “Pee Wee” Lee, moved into them in June 2019.