Tech architecture students behind shelters for homeless

Mad Housers builds structures in Atlanta encampments.

Q: I have a cousin who helped build panels for an organization known as “Mad Housers.” Are they like Habitat for Humanity? I’d like to hear about this group.

A: The Mad Housers is an Atlanta-based nonprofit corporation advocating for the homeless by building shelters and educating communities.

During the late 1980s, a couple of Georgia Tech architecture students designed and built structures for the homeless around Atlanta, according to Mad Housers President Tracy Woodard.

When asked about the name, she said, “The Mad Housers was a play on the Mad Bomber; not my idea, but the name stuck.”

Addressing a basic need for a safe and stable place to sleep, the organization locates established home- less encampments in Atlanta.

“We tend to find that a number of homeless have pretty stable relationships with the community around them. You have one or two people living in the woods, some- body’s backyard or behind a business, and everybody has agreed that it is OK for them to be there,” Woodard said. “They have developed trust with the community.”

The Mad Housers come in and build simple shelters

meant to be a temporary place of residence, unlike Habitat, which builds per- manent structures for the future of the homeowner.

“We are able to upgrade their situation, give them a place where they can sleep with a locking door and a burn- ing stove so they can stay warm in the wintertime. It has some storage space for their belongings,” the president said.

Set on cinder blocks, constructed out of lumber and plywood, the houses are about the size of a toolshed and are free to displaced individuals meeting certain requirements.

They build two different types of shelters: The High Hat is 10 feet tall, and the Low Rider is 5 feet tall. The blueprints for both are on the website at no cost, and the design is simple enough for anyone to follow.

Building Mad Housers shelters was a popular pastime with families during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to Woodard.

The organization is very “passionate” about educating various communities about what homelessness looks like. It’s not always obvious, she stated.

“We are also trying to stay politically involved and inform politicians about what may or may not hurt the homeless.”

COURTESY During a recent build, volunteers raise a panel for one of the Mad Housers shelters for the homeless.