With your help, we will finalize a generous land transfer from the City of Richmond once we reach our fundraising milestone. Through a combination of charitable donations, public and private grants, and corporate sponsorships, we will build the gated village on a three-acre plot that will include tiny homes, a garden, and a community center. We envision adding a workforce development campus adjacent to the village that will benefit village residents and other community members who want to gain new trade and technical skills that will help them stay on the path of stability and independence.

After we break ground and complete the village buildout, a team of trained volunteers and staff will review prospective residents through a comprehensive process that includes an online application and an in-person evaluation to verify that they are chronically homeless. A selection committee will use an objective process to prioritize candidates according to need and community fit. Applicants will then go through an interview process and a background check, after whic they will be notified of whether they were accepted, waitlisted, or denied.

Residents must have been chronically homeless in the greater Richmond area for a 12-month period or longer, have a physical or mental illness that has forced them to rely on public services for basic care during this time, and can subsidize their living expenses. Eden Village of Richmond staff and volunteers will get them the support and security they need to stabilize and thrive independently, but many of our residents choose to continue residency indefinitely.

We will have trained on-site staff, certified support professionals, and other volunteers who will help residents stabilize and deal with life events through financial, mental health and professional counseling and rehabilitation. The community areas will include a laundry, gathering areas for socializing, and a community kitchen, garden, and shopette that our residents run and maintain together for their benefit.

Our current site plan accommodates 36 tiny homes in a gated, secured complex. Each tiny home will be fully furnished and arranged in a courtyard setting. Wheelchair accessibility and other ADA-compliant accommodations will be made in accordance with that resident’s needs.

No. Each resident pays a below market rate rent using a portion of their monthly earnings from sources that include, but are not limited to, Disability and Social Security insurance, pension payments, veterans benefits, employment income, trusts/inheritances, and other external sources. This approach ensures that residents become accustomed to the structure and budgeting required if and when they decide to transition to housing outside of the village.

Forever, if they choose. The beauty of the Eden Village model is that it is designed to provide housing for those who will always struggle to do it on their own. Most residents who qualify to live in an Eden Village face chronic mental illnesses, physical limitations, addiction, or other extenuating circumstances are incapable of moving to a fully independent stable home life, which has led them to their chronically homeless status that qualified them in the first place. If residents meet the minimum requirements and are a good neighbor to other residents, they are welcome to stay in their home.

The Eden Village model is underpinned by promoting a substance-free life, creating safe, stable, and supportive spaces conducive to health and healing, and working together to care for their new homes and communities. To ensure the model works and puts the safety of all members of the Eden Village community first, guests must be approved to visit residents in the village. Our residents make great neighbors because they have reached a turning point by deciding to join Eden Village and focus on changing their lives for the better. Eden Villages are well-maintained, secure, and will be a positive force in the greater Richmond community.

Individuals that are chronically homeless and unable to consistently care for themselves. Eden Village of Richmond will get them the support and security they need to thrive, but many of our residents continue residency indefinitely. They do pay rent and are expected to be an active part of the Eden Village community.

We will have staff on-site, support professionals helping our residents with their finances, mental health and job placement. There will also be laundry, community gathering area, community kitchen and a garden that our residents maintain for their benefit.