A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece about Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a truck ministry that provides meals to my homeless neighbors in the Austin, Texas area. But the truck ministry is not the only program ML&F administers. The neighbors who are fed from the food truck are often homeless due to temporary situations. They may suffer from mental illnesses. They may move from place to place, wary of staying in one location too long and vigilant about their safety.
For those who have been chronically homeless for at least one year and meet other criteria, Community First! Village (CF!V) is a place for them to sincerely call home. This is how CF!V got started: “In 2004, Mobile Loaves & Fishes purchased our first gently used RV with a goal of lifting one person off the streets of Austin and enabling them to live in that RV.”
Today, there are 470 individuals who call CF!V home, including the Mobile Loaves & Fishes founder and current CEO, Alan Graham. Homes in the village today may be RVs as the first homes were, or they may be tiny homes complete with small bath and kitchenette, or more recently, small, free-standing residential units akin to a cabin at a state park, clustered around a group of bathrooms and showers, and a community kitchen with small pavilion so residents can share meals together.
All Community First! residents are employed, either in the Austin community or on the CF!V property. Some cultivate and maintain Genesis Gardens, which uses organic and traditional cultivation practices to produce a range of food products, through partnerships with Austin horticulture experts. Some residents may tend the chickens or the bees. Other residents provide landscaping or fix-it services around the village. Austin metro buses transport residents into town if they have a job off-campus and golf carts transport residents and staff inside the village as needed. In return, each resident pays rent, according to their ability to pay.
As the name suggests, the core value of CF!V is community. MLF’s belief is that the single most common denominator for those who are chronically homeless is lack of family or support systems. What they attempt to provide these individuals is a stable place to be part of a community. And it clearly works.
CF!V has completed two phases of the village so far, located southeast of the city of Austin. They’re currently working on Phase III. In total, the planned village will include 1750 homes and neighborhood support buildings spread across 178 acres. The final phase is expected to be complete in 2028.
The last time my husband and I visited CF!V, we were there to deliver a “Welcome Home” kit for a new resident. There are a variety of housewarming gifts that can be given to new residents to help them set up their new spaces. We provided a cleaning kit that included mop, broom, cleaning solutions and a bucket. It’s not glamorous, but necessary for every resident. We’re also proud to be Mobile Loaves & Fishes Everyday Angel donors.
Other housewarming kits include kitchen basics, entertainment like books or games, electronics like a TV or DVD player, outdoor essentials (potted plants, wind chimes, and a welcome mat), non-perishable food, or furniture. Each of these collections is a delight for a new resident who may have nothing more to bring with them than the clothes they are wearing.
The smiles, friendly greetings, and open attitudes of the CF!V residents on their streets, walking paths, or in the Community Market testify to their joy in being where they are. Many residents are creative and participate in artistic programs at the Art House.
Some residents create visual arts, jewelry, or work with ceramics. Their wares, along with food and household items are sold in the Community Market, which is staffed by residents. Other projects include an outdoor cinema open to the public on free movie nights and lovely Community Inn tiny homes available to rent. CF!V members coordinate and maintain these amenities as well.
Community First! Village regularly hosts visitors from all over the world to explain their concept and demonstrate how their community works. Consequently, there are Community First! programs being created around the country and the world. One element of the local program is teaching others how to implement their own models.
The guiding principles of a Community First! program, are:
- Beyond housing – home
- Not just PSH (permanent supportive housing) — PSCH (permanent supportive community and housing)
- Balancing the needs of the individual neighbor with the needs of the community as a whole
- Inviting the wider community to the banquet table
Above the desk in my office hangs a watercolor of a butterfly that I bought at the CF!V Community Market about a year ago. Its colors cheer me every time I look up from my desk. I like to think of the butterfly as a creature that encounters several transformations in life, much as some of my neighbors do who find themselves without a home and in time discover not only a home but true community.
Janice Airhart 