Tiny-home plans
Resiliency Village to host fundraiser to benefit neighborhood goal
NOTE: A headline for this story ran in Friday’s Union Democrat, but the story did not due to an error. We are running the story in this edition to correct the mistake.
The nonprofit group Resiliency Village will host its first major fundraiser virtually on Tuesday, also known as “Giving Tuesday,” as it furthers its goal of building a tiny-house neighborhood in Tuolumne County for underserved members of the community.
“People have experienced a lot of downness, and this is an opportunity for people to share with others now,” said Mark Dyken, executive director of Resiliency Village. “I’m just encouraging people to go bold and go big and really strive to make a difference.”
Resiliency Village, formed in 2019 to find homelessness solutions in the county, initially planned for a live fundraiser in March, but developed plans to bring the fundraiser online and align it with the global philanthropy holiday Giving Tuesday in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have not been able to do a fundraiser this year at all,” said Shelley Muniz, the organization’s secretary-treasurer.
Giving Tuesday is described on its website as part of “a global generosity movement” and was founded in 2012. It was originally formed as “a day that encourages people to do good,” and in subsequent years the website promoted people, communities and organizations to collaborate and promote philanthropy for underserved populations.
The event will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through the online platforms Zoom, YouTube and Facebook Live. It will feature a tour of a tiny home, social activist Patch Adams, music by Clan Dyken, dance from Kelli Brock, storytelling by BZ Smith and will be MC’D by Kevin Axtell.
Dyken said Resiliency Village had raised approximately $4,000 already, mostly through online donations, cash and check. The goal on their flyer is $10,000, though they hope they can exceed their own expectations.
“Hopefully, we are trying to go as high as we can go,” Muniz said. “Everything we raise goes to the Resiliency Village
and helping out the homeless community.”
The Soulsbyville-based organization aims to build a village of tiny houses for the homeless for an inclusive and healing community, the group’s administrative staff said.
Dyken said Resiliency Village was in escrow on a piece of property in Tuolumne County, but he could not provide any more details until the deal was finalized. They have an end goal of 100 beds, but intend to start small with a manageable amount of tiny houses on site first.
“We want to make sure we do it right,” Muniz said. “We say this all the time, it takes a village to grow a village. We’ve been working on this for a couple years now. It’s going to take everybody to see this project succeed. We really feel like TC can be a role model for the way we put this whole thing forward. Our plan is strong and unique, and we have a great opportunity here to do some incredible work with our homeless population.”
According to Union Democrat records, the village plans to include on-site supportive services that address physical, mental and emotional health, wellness, financial literacy, job training, and social enterprise.
Muniz said she hoped the tiny-house neighborhood would serve as a “trauma healing center” that would provide traditional supports like counseling, but also nontraditional assistance like music, art and drama.
“It’s a community where we want our people to participate,” Muniz said. “The people who live on site will be invested. They will volunteer and learn skills and buy into the concept of what we’re doing.”
Dyken said the fundraising event will also feature a statement from one of Resiliency Village’s most significant donors, Lloyd Mathiesen from Chicken Ranch Casino.
Mathiesen, tribal chairman of the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-wuk Indians of California, made a statement that Dyken said gave him “goosebumps.”
“Chicken Ranch Casino is going to be a big partner,” Dyken said. “What we want to do is make sure we are reaching communities that are typically underserved in Tuolumne County.”
“They are heavily invested in what we are doing,” added Muniz.
The tribe donated $150,000 to Resiliency Village to purchase an 8-acre property in East Sonora for building a village of tiny homes centered around the trauma healing center.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Resiliency Village has operated a food bank and sheltered disadvantaged members of the community. They have seen public assistance needs magnified by financially insecure individuals and families who are unable to work due to the ongoing pandemic.
“Tuolumne County is a unique and special place in itself,” said Brenda Chapman, president of Resiliency Village’s board. “It’s a community that has always stepped up when people were in need. We feel like we are in this, we have this opportunity because Tuolumne County is a place where this can happen because of the community.”
Resiliency Village will also host its Stuff the Bus event between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Dec. 19, in the Crossroads Shopping Center parking lot in Sonora. The event provides supplies and aid for school children in need. They plan to only accept new donations this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resiliency Village also is working with Grandma’s House in Columbia, a tutoring and mentoring nonprofit organization, to set up socially distanced Christmas decorations in neighborhoods for drive-by viewing. The event is called “Christmas Inside Out” and will feature a Santa and other drive-by festivities.
“When we pull together, we can do anything. We can prove that time after time after time,” Muniz said. “What a great way to end this year.”