A crowd gathers at the front of the village of tiny homes on Division street. Opposite the crowd, there is a stage full of the people who planned and created this new community in Springfield. Behind the stage stands the newly completed community center open to the residents of each home in the village and available to groups to come volunteer. Applause lights up the outdoor space as the new community is talked about, blessed and the first resident of the village is welcomed to his home. This is the grand opening of Eden Village.

 

In 2010, Dr. David and Linda Brown founded The Gathering Tree, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness in Springfield. The Gathering Tree created the Tree, a homeless center downtown, and Eden Village, a community of tiny homes for disabled, homeless members of the Springfield community. Eden Village, once full, will house 30 individuals and one chaplain. After planning and working on the village for two years, the grand opening was Tuesday, August 18.

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At the grand opening, many speakers talked about their involvement with Eden Village. The ceremony began with a welcome and prayer. Dr. David and Linda Brown spoke, as well as Joselyn Baldner, Executive Vice President of Central Bank of the Ozarks, Caleb Arthur, CEO of Sun Solar, and Congressman Billy Long. Sun Solar is a local company that donated solar panels to Eden Village and donated money for the Sun Solar Community Center located at the entrance to the village.

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“Sometimes it takes ten years to do these kinds of projects, and they did it in a record amount of time,” Arthur said. “I’m just honored to be a part of it and to lead a great organization.”

 

   After the speakers gave their short speeches, the crowd welcomed Linda Brown back to the microphone for a few impromptu words. She spoke about Donny, a homeless man whom she met through the Gathering Tree. Donny passed away in October 2017, but he left a lasting impression on Dr. David and Linda Brown. Members of the Eden Village staff wore bandanas and pins in his honor at the ceremony.

   

“[Donny] taught us and showed us what love can do because when we first met him at the Gathering Tree, he was a mean dude,” Linda said. “He slept under a bridge. He was mean, and we watched him melt over the years as he saw people who loved him unconditionally. And that’s what this village is all about because we all need love, and he taught us exactly what that meant.”

  

After the community center was blessed, it was time to welcome the first resident of Eden Village to his home. Nate Schlueter, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Eden Village, spoke about Tommy Yarberry and read him the rules of the community.

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“Tommy’s the same kind of different as me,” Schlueter said. “Like me, he was created in the image of a good and loving God, and he has God-given talents. Like me, he likes the color blue, and, like me, he likes to read the bible. But Tommy’s different from me too. Last night Tommy slept in a hidden campsite just down the road on Division street. He’s been on and off the streets for years…. Tommy’s one of our friends that sleeps outside, but tonight, he sleeps inside.”

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Yarberry put in a lot of time helping around the village with landscaping and other labor. Throughout this time, Yarberry has been surrounded by love and support. The opportunity to have the first house means so much to him. Yarberry was given time to speak at the grand opening as well. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked out on the crowd cheering for him.

 

“This is the most important day of my life,” Yarberry said. “Actually, it gives me my life. Thank you.”

  

Philip Wright, Lead Pastor at The Venues, blessed Yarberry. He was given the keys to his house and the opportunity to walk into his new home. Yarberry’s welcome home team, a group dedicated to helping him transition to life off of the streets, met him at the stage and walked with him to his new home. That concluded the presentation. The Gathering Tree provided free lunch in the community center, and guests took tours of the tiny houses.  

  

“Tommy, welcome to Eden Village,” Schlueter said. “Welcome to God’s project, and welcome to your forever home.”

  

Now that Eden Village has moved in the first resident, the staff at Eden Village are looking forward to transitioning the rest of the residents into their homes.

  

“We are excited to move in our residents one at a time,” Schlueter said. “We want to have them all in by Christmas Eve and make sure that last Christmas was their last Christmas outside.”

  

Fourteen of the 31 homes are completed, and 2.6 million of the 3 million dollars for the village have been raised. Dr. Brown is thankful for the donations that have been received to make Eden Village a reality.

  

“Our biggest donation was a hundred thousand dollars, and our smallest was six cents,” Dr. Brown said. “In between there was about three thousand a person.”  

  

There are many ways to volunteer and support Eden Village. Helping with landscaping, working on a welcome home team and donating money are a few of the ways to help. Kristi Martin, a volunteer at Eden Village and wife of David Martin, a member of the board at Eden Village, has donated time to the cause, but she has also been involved in the making of a home for the village.

  

“When my dad died in March, his wife Sandy set up an avenue for people who wanted to donate money to the Don Hopper home in memory of [him] being a builder for most of his career,” Martin said.

  

The next step for Eden Village and The Gathering Tree is to repeat the process. The Gathering Tree hopes to create several other villages like Eden Village around town.

  

“Once it’s settled, then we want to find another trailer park and do the same thing over again,” Dr. Brown said. “If we could do about ten of these in Springfield, we could solve homelessness.”

 

For more information on how to get involved, visit www.gatheringtree.org. The website also has information on The Gathering Tree’s other ventures and ways to donate.