Latest news: The Sacred Settlement bill has been signed!

We help faith communities develop permanent supportive tiny home villages, called Sacred Settlements, designed to address long-term homelessness. Each one is owned and operated by the worshipping community on their land with Settled by their side for the journey.  

Cultivating home
in a homeless world.

Who we are

Settled is a team of committed and curious families and individuals. We have developed our research-based approach of breaking homelessness through close relationships with the chronically homeless and those who serve them.

This is a way of life for us.

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The Full Community Approach has five key elements.
Intentional
Neighbors.
People who willingly change their current lifestyle to live life alongside formerly homeless neighbors.
This helps heal the brokenness that can come from a tragic childhood.
Permanent
Homes.
Small, simple homes are gathered together to provide safety and to help promote community.
A quality, affordable home-base becomes a source of stability to build from.
Cultivated
Places.
The homes are placed on religious land that is carefully adapted to meet the needs of the community.
These shared spaces present daily opportunities to connect with others.
Purposeful
Work.
Everyone in the community shares in the labor and is compensated fairly for their work.
Work gives direction to life, providing a reason to get up in the morning.
Supportive
Friends.
Each person has one or more helpers to navigate services and to be supported with friendship.
This helps restore a sense of trust in positive healthy friendships.
Element one
Intentional Neighbors.
Most people experiencing chronic homelessness have endured a childhood of horrific neglect, abuse, or violence.

Participating in what a home really is through a positive model... breaks generational brokenness.

S. Hebbard, How did we get here?
The history of modern-day homelessness

Intentional Neighbors.

We know it is loss of family that drives homelessness, so the solution comes through healthy relationships with trustworthy people: Intentional Neighbors.

These relationships are hard-earned and genuine, often causing things like addiction and mistrust to fade away over time.

One third of the homes in a Sacred Settlement are lived in by Intentional Neighbors.

Sacred Settlement.

Jamal and Kim

Jamal and Kim are naturally curious and open-minded people. To them, being an Intentional Neighbor was just the right thing to do.

Rose

Rose has long been a defender of the vulnerable. When she found out about Sacred Settlements, she felt like she was home.

There are many ways to join in the work of Settled.
Find your place.
Element two
Permanent Homes.
Shelters can be overcrowded and unsafe, driving many to live in self-governed tent cities.

Conditions are harsh, volatile and unhealthy, eventually resulting in clearance of the encampment by the local government.

Cohen, Yetvin, & Khadduri, 2019

Permanent Homes.

Life on the streets is unstable in every way, so the long-term solution can’t be “transitional.” It must include: Permanent Homes.

By surrounding a person with a carefully considered home, feelings of peace and safety come naturally.

Everyone is required to sign a lease, pay rent, abide by civil law and abide by the good neighbor agreement.

Neighbors can live in their homes for as long as they like. In fact, we hope they grow roots and become settled in the community indefinitely.

By utilizing smaller footprints and shared amenities, Settled can cut the average per unit development cost dramatically.

Housing development
cost per unit.

Cost of a single Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) unit funded by government subsidies.

Settled's cost per home.

A single tiny home including shared facility costs funded and built by individuals and faith communities.

Do you or your faith community want to help lift one person up off the streets and into a permanent home?
Sponsor a home.
Element three
Cultivated Place.
Most people want to help the homeless, but few want to live near them.

The single greatest obstacle to building affordable housing is the
not in my backyard mentality.

Alan Graham, Welcome Homeless

Cultivated Places.

Many faith communities have underutilized areas of their land and buildings. Sacred Settlements fill these areas with meaning and utility: Cultivated Places.

The common home is at the heart of each Sacred Settlement, bringing people together for shared meals, games, classes and conversations.

Our approach can adapt to nearly any religious property.

Homes

Settled's site design balances community with privacy.

Remodeling a portion of an existing building into a common home with restrooms, kitchen, laundry, and gathering space reduces overall development costs and creates an environment for routine interactions for building community.

Common
Home

Is your faith community interested in a Sacred Settlement?
Invite a speaker.
Element Four
Purposeful Work.
On the streets, every day is about survival.

Instability leaves a homeless individual struggling to keep a commitment and struggling to stay focused.

Poremski, Whitley, & Latimer, 2014

Purposeful Work.

Getting and keeping a job while living on the streets is nearly impossible. But once a person has a place that feels like home, skill-matched work becomes possible. Everybody needs: Purposeful Work.

Everybody is compensated fairly for a job well done.

Purposeful Work is not required, but it is an effective way of helping to pay rent and build good habits.

Purposeful Work enables neighbors to afford their rent.

Monthly rent.

Neighbors can take on cleaning and maintenance tasks around the community to help pay a large part of their rent.

Making goods in our Purposeful Workshops can cover the remaining rent amount.

Every week, we bring dignified work opportunities to people coming out of chronic homelessness.
Sponsor Purposeful Work.
Element Five
Supportive Friends.
Transactional interactions only reinforce social barriers.

People and professionals are in and out of the lives of those stuck in homelessness. As a result, trust erodes with each lost connection while on the streets.

Gabrielle Clowdus. PhD Dissertation on Homelessness

Supportive Friends.

Surrounding a person with consistent love and support creates an opportunity where neighbors coming out of homelessness can find their ‘home.' It takes: Supportive Friends.

Supportive Friends are not paid, they are volunteers building genuine, trusting relationships. This is a very important distinction in the minds of the formerly homeless.

Many professional services require consistency and advocacy to be effective. Supportive friends help bridge transportation, communication, and trust gaps that can sometimes occur.

Supportive Friends empower an individual to succeed in their goals by walking side-by-side with them.

There are many barriers to essential services when living on the streets.

Helpful
services.

Supportive Friends become important advocates that bridge the gap between a person and the services and opportunities that would help them.

Helpful
services.

Want to join in the work?
Volunteer with us.