KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Leaders gathered Wednesday afternoon in Knox County to cut the ribbon on a community of five tiny homes, helping people recovering from addiction and who were homeless get a place to call their own.
"I always wanted one, but obviously, I would choose everything else and plus it's so expensive. Really it means the absolute world to me right now to say that I'm in my own house, to call it mine," said Sydney Hammock, a resident of the community.
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services partnered with the state's Department of Commerce and Insurance to commemorate the "Angelic Ministries' Studio Home Park Community." It was completed with $219,500 in funding through the substance abuse service's Creating Homes Initiative grant program.
The community has five homes, according to a release from the state, and are located on Zion Lane.
Angelic Ministries started in 2002 and works to help people experiencing homelessness. The ministry said online that it has homes in Knoxville where people in recovery live "and are able to be discipled as a new Christian, trained in a marketable job skill, and mentored in a caring, structured environment."
The ministry also said the people living in homes help the ministry by picking up donations, sorting and organizing them, and helping load items.
"They have the rules. You can't really go see your family or nothing for the first little while, which isn't a bad thing but at first I was like, 'I don't know about it,'" said Hammock. "Everybody, no matter our past or what we've done, they pulled into us and loved us no matter what and showed us that we were worth something."
Randy Jones, who helped create the tiny home community, said they can sell the homes for around $35,000 and residents can get permanent financing on it. He said payments cost a few hundred dollars per month.
"It's back to the American dream. My mom and dad bought their first house for $13,000," he said. "I feel like I'm doing that again."