New tiny homes aim to help the unhoused in Madera

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- 66-year-old Pearl Adams has called the Rescue Mission home since suffering a setback when she relapsed after staying clean for 15 years.

"I was crying, crying, crying and I got a phone call," said Adams.

That phone call changed her life when she was offered the opportunity to move from an apartment complex located on the mission's campus to a more private home in its new tiny home triage center.

For the past eight months, she has lived inside a two-bedroom unit she shares with one other person.

"This feels like home to me; it really does," said Pearl.

"To those who will soon call these homes their own, we welcome you, we support you," said Chair Leticia Gonzalez, Board of Supervisors serving District 4.

On Monday, Madera County and the Rescue Mission unveiled its new triage center, five years in the making.

The triage center includes six tiny homes.

Each 576-square-foot space comes fully furnished and ready to welcome individuals and small families of four.

When visitors walk over the threshold of each home, they are greeted with a bible verse.

"If it doesn't start with faith, the foundation of faith, we're just going to be providing services over and over and over," said Mattie Mendez, Director of Community Action Partnership of Madera County.

What began as a tiny idea in the Spring of 2020 grew into a larger vision.

In the winter of 2023, the Rescue Mission broke ground and secured nearly all the funding from federal programs. The project's overall cost is $1.2 million.

Now, the mission is making plans for the lot adjacent to the tiny homes.

"Now we're looking at that land back there. Another empty piece of land," said Jesse Chavez, Director of the Madera Rescue Mission.

A half-acre that'll be home to another 100 individuals looking to call the Rescue Mission home.

A general contractor by trade, Chavez said the biggest obstacles the nonprofit faced in completing the tiny homes project were delays in the construction and inclement weather, including storms.

"Now I know I'm on my way," said Adams. "I'm going forward, not backward."

The next phase will include a two-story building with services for social and mental health.

Those interested in applying are vetted by the Community Action Partnership of Madera County.

The Madera Rescue Mission said it hopes to break ground on Phase 2 in one to two years.

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