What began a few years ago as a spark of an idea has finally come to fruition. Pastor Ben Windle of Discover Church announced June 22 that the Hope House – located behind the church in Franklin – will soon be welcoming its first families. The new initiative provides three apartments to qualifying families who are working to transition from homelessness to a more permanent housing situation.
Windle explained how the Hope House came about.
“A Mental Health Task Force was started in Macon County and I was asked to be a part of it. It is made up of local paramedics, Angel Medical Hospital’s CEO Clint Kendall, a few members of the town councils in Franklin and Highlands, police chiefs, the sheriff … recovery groups. Everyone shares information and updates about overdoses, homelessness. … From these meetings, I learned of a systemic need for housing in this area. One of the reasons some people are stuck in a spiraling situation is because of housing needs. There was a housing boom in 2020, but few rentals. And, even with two incomes, it’s hard to save money for first and last month’s rent, especially when rents are so high. And with kids involved, DSS has been at these meetings. So much of the talk is about housing, housing, housing.”
As Windle learned about the need for housing for homeless families, he also learned that Discover Church is in a prime location for transitional housing due to its proximity to city water and sewer, the hospital, and a grocery store within walking distance.
Discover Church purchased its property at 47 Macon Center Drive around nine years ago. Behind the property was a sliver of land that included storage units, but they did not come with the purchase of the church property. A few years ago, a family attending the church purchased the storage unit property and donated it to the church to serve as more parking. Most of the storage units were sold, but one long one was kept for possible future use.
“We offered the storage building up for a transition house and [the Mental Health Task Force] ran with it,” said Windle. “Dogwood Trust contacted me and said they had a grant available. Caroline LaFrienier, who attends Discover, is an excellent grant writer. The amount of work she put into writing the grant was just awesome. She even went to all the meetings with Dogwood Trust. We thought Dogwood would give us a grant for $50,000 and we would have to do a capital campaign to raise the rest. They gave us a grant for $600,000. Mind blowing to me! That covered everything to turn the warehouse into three transitional apartments – renovation, furnishings, electronics!”
Windle pointed out that one potential hangup to beginning the process of turning a warehouse into three apartments was securing an architect.
“The architect was going to be a really big part of the expense. But this architect, Stephen Perry Smith, was going to our church, and when he heard about the project he said, ‘I’ll do the plans.’ He donated his time and worked with us more than an architect technically would. We had to pay a few people to do the drafting, but that’s all. And then, Ronnie Beale, Beale Construction, greatly discounted services and materials. Discover Church was willing to do it all; so many people wanted to volunteer and donate – but the grant and individuals stepping up have freed us up to focus on other things.”
No Wrong Door oversees Hope House
“One thing we, as Discover Church, were concerned about was oversight … intake; how are we going to know these people meet the criteria and how do we enforce rules, etc.,” said Windle. “No Wrong Door said we’ll do the intake. We’ll manage it for you.”
Operating expenses for Hope House are also handled by No Wrong Door, through Dogwood Trust grant monies.
Windle said that dozens of families have called or walked into the church to inquire about housing at Hope House. Through DSS (Department of Social Services) recommendations, three families were chosen to be the first occupants. Hope House will be a transition living situation for only families at this time, not individuals, and families must adhere to rules involving rent-return monthly payments, participating in life skills classes/counseling, adhering to regular drug testing and apartment inspections, making sure no pets or overnight guests are in the apartments, and more. Families will be able to live in the Hope House apartments for at least a year, if necessary.
“The goal is that they are working toward permanent housing,” said Windle. “We want them to be successful – that’s the point. So, there will be much in place to help them be successful. And with the proximity to the church, there is a lot we can offer as a church: community meals, services, kids’ programs, and Freedom That Lasts [recovery program].
Windle said anyone in the community, no matter if they attend Discover Church or not, can be involved as volunteers for Hope House families in myriad ways: discipling, mentoring, teaching, health and wellness, celebration and milestone events, etc. If interested, they can email [email protected].
“Discover Church was already offering space for fostering and adoption training as well as guardian ad litem training. So having Hope House here is full circle,” he said. “When you meet a need for people in the town, it gives relevance to the church – why the church exists. It’s charged our people; when the church is meeting needs, it lights up others.”