Pivotal project
Big home show supports tiny houses
People attending the Oklahoma City Home + Outdoor Living Show will have an opportunity to turn tiny houses into tiny homes for struggling youth. Show organizers are working with the nonprofit Pivot Inc. to collect household items for a first-of-its-kind tiny-house community for homeless teens. The organization is seeking donations of twin extra-long bed sheets, bath towels, first aid kits, standard pillows and alarm clocks to help young people get started in their new homes, said Melanie Anthony, Pivot's vice president of development and community engagement. The show runs March 22-24 at State Fair Park. Show hours will be noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission for adults is $10 at the box office or $8 at www.homeshowOKC. com. For more information or questions about the events or tickets, go to the website.
Pivot provides a safety net for teens who are homeless or aging out of the foster care system, offering housing, life skills training, job support and counseling. The tiny house neighborhood is being built on the organization's 12½acre property at 201 NE 50. The first phase will have six homes, but the land can accommodate 85 in all. Work is progressing on the community's first three houses, which they originally hoped to have finished by the end of March, but nature had other plans. “It seems like the time all the permits came, the weather came, too,” Anthony said. They now hope to be finished in May. The community is targeting youth ages 16 to 19, a group Pivot often sees not living with parents and unable to secure housing of their own. Too young to sign a lease, many juggle school and work without knowing where they'll sleep that night. Putting a roof over their heads is a solid first step for them, Anthony said. “Being able to be in a consistent residence that's theirs where they can learn and develop in life skills, learn to be a good neighbor and a good tenant will really help them when they're ready to transition into something more permanent in our community. We're really excited about that,” she said. Currently, Pivot offers a dorm-style emergency shelter for 18 youths between the ages of 12 and 17 and two efficiency apartments to accommodate longer stays. Shelter occupants will help work on the homes alongside professionals to give them skills and a chance to see what working in the trades is like. Developer Richard McKown, of Ideal Homes, helped get the project under way, and he sees the work paying off long after the community is complete. “I see it as the beginning of a building revolution,” he said. “I see tiny homes as an opportunity to return to the tradition of building and to empower them with the skills to be able to lift up their own neighborhoods and to go in and create wealth for themselves. It will give them the courage to go into the fallingdown, old house or buy the empty lot and build a house from scratch and own it, not pay rent.”