Maple Grove Church Opens Up About Tiny Home Plan To Serve Homeless
For Maple Grove City Council Member Kristy Janigo, the issue of homelessness has a personal connection.
It’s one she feels every time she visits the Angel of Hope site in Maple Grove. Her friend Debbie has a memorial brick at the monument, a callback to her tragic death.
“Debbie, herself was a person experiencing homelessness,” Janigo said. “She tried other living scenarios, she tried apartment living. But it just wasn’t right for her. And as a woman she very much feared the shelter system. And she died by suicide because, you know, people were cruel to her.”
Janigo thinks about Debbie when considering policy decisions related to homelessness.
The issue has come before the council with increasing frequency as a Maple Grove church moves ahead with plans to help the unhoused population.
The Church of the Open Door is planning to build a community of 12 tiny homes that would serve the homeless.
“One of the ways we practice and follow the way of Jesus is by serving the poor, the marginalized,” said Church of the Open Door lead Pastor Dave Brickey on the church’s motivation.
The church would offer eight of the tiny homes for people chronically without housing. The other four would be for designated volunteers who live within the community.
“We say this is permanent housing that provides a stability that a lot of people who have experienced homelessness don’t have in their life,” said Rose Larson, pastor of prayer at Church of the Open Door.
A Maple Grove church is finding support and concern as it moves ahead with plans to build tiny homes for the homeless population.
Questions of Oversight in Maple Grove
A bill that was approved by the state legislature and went into effect last year allows religious institutions to set up these communities of tiny homes, also known as sacred settlements or sacred communities.
Local governments have a very limited toolbox when it comes to regulating sacred settlements and generally aren’t able to stop them from being built.
While local oversight is limited, church officials say these communities are safe.
Larson lives in one as a designated volunteer.
“It’s less of a ‘we’re coming to serve’ and more of a ‘we’re doing life together,'” Larson said.
She described the community as “peaceful” and “playful.”
The church plans to run background checks on folks interested in living on-site.
“When it comes to background checks, we aren’t able accommodate people who have a sexual offense in their background or have a violent criminal history,” Larson said.
Some neighbors, however, are concerned about the prospect of the sacred settlement in their neighborhood.
They’ve formed an organization called No Settlement Maple Grove.
“While the name of our organization, No Settlement Maple Grove, may seem strong, our message is clear: no sacred settlement should proceed without meaningful community engagement and input,” said Maple Grove resident Dane Nachtsheim.
The issue is also gathering traction at the state Capitol.
Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, is drafting a bill to give local governments more control.
“They’d have more input and can request changes to the church’s plan if they see it’s in the interest of the community,” Robbins said.
For Janigo, the issue comes back to her friend, Debbie.
“I asked her what she thought of the tiny homes concept, and she loved it,” Janigo said. “I do think it will meet a need in our community and bring some safety to people and a better life to some people.”
