COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: $300 a month rent for life for residents of Eden Village

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - It’s a village of tiny homes. It’s an investment with big returns. Eden Village of Wilmington is a non-profit that builds homes for the area’s homeless.

The homes aren’t free of charge; they’re for rent.

“So the rent is going to be $300 a month,” said Shawn Hayes, executive director of Eden Village. “That includes utilities and that’s for life — never increase — fixed rent.”

Hayes says they already have a waiting list but the homes are only available to people who identify as homeless. He says the need for housing for the homeless is critical.

“Well, the need is there because we have people who have fallen through the cracks. The people that we serve are chronically homeless meaning they’ve been on the streets here in Wilmington for at least a year and we estimate that population is around a hundred folks,” Hayes said. “And these are the people who have absolutely fallen through the cracks. And what we’re trying to do is actually take some of those off the streets and actually move the needle with the problem we have with the chronically homeless here in Wilmington.”

The first phase of the village will include 33 homes but Hayes says this is only a start to ending people living on the streets in Wilmington.

“Once this village is up, we’re not stopping. We have a motto: Imagine Wilmington as a city where no one sleeps outside.”

If you would like to donate to Eden Village of Wilmington or volunteer, click here.

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