The Shantytown Project - Low Cost Housing with a Difference

Background:  The bottom 1/3 of American retirees live on under $1000 per month.

Standalone Home

Have you ever heard the term "rent slavery"?  It is when people are forced to pay more than 1/3 of their monthly income on housing and utilities.  By definition, it restricts their freedom and fails to provide them with safe and secure shelter, a human right.

Imagine this:  A small cluster of homes on the edge of town - each is steps away from parking and within 50 feet of a large luxurious "community center" with every modern convenience.  There are 16 small homes, some stand alone, some share a wall with neighbors.  Everybody owns their own place, there are people of all ages - some homes have toys on the porch, some have wheelchair ramps.

The cost?  $500 down and $50 per month for your house - for 15 years, then you own it.  Monthly cost for the community center and shared land?  Capped at a maximum of $200 per month.  Utility costs?  Passive heating/cooling for a few dollars a month, each house has its own solar panel for TV/phone/lighting.

Property tax - $25 per month.  

Or Attached

Fiberoptic wi-fi, cable TV with widescreens (community center), 110 electric outlets near every house for powering tools or other necessary things you might need.

Why is it necessary for New Hope to do this?

Well, because churches get special privileges under the law.  This is why the Amish and "buggy Mennonite" faiths are allowed to build their homes and workshops without the high costs and oversight of corporate-sponsored building codes that add tens of thousands of dollars to even the simplest construction project.

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The New Hope Faith is an extension of the Anabaptist tradition of separate culture, nonviolence, and living with a distinct difference from other people.

There are three "branches" of the Anabaptist faith.  Amish, Mennonite, and New Hope.  New Hope is more closely similar to old-order Amish than modern Mennonite, as we do not build large buildings to pray in, and we follow our own codes of conduct and law.

For example, with or without draft, we will not fight in war or take employment that requires carrying a weapon that might be used on others.  We are nonviolent.

We do not fully embrace modern technology, but pick and choose.  Economy, thriftiness and common sense, not traditions, define how we build buildings, and how we choose to live.

We seek to feed hungry people, comfort those hurting, and live in communities, not alone.   We tend to open our doors and share our homes - a full house is a house of life.

We believe in sharing expensive things, and not wasting money.

The two most offensive things in Modern America is the culture of the $10,000 funeral and the fact that an average house costs over $150,000.  That is ridiculous.

Houses must keep us warm and cool, they must provide shelter, they give us a place to live within our human communities.  Thus this - Our most important project - the reason we became a "licensed" church, The Shantytown project.

This name is in the honor of safe humble communities of tarpaper shacks and salvaged lumber that were a fixture in America before World War II.  Then came "zoning" and a commercial building industry and tax code that demands huge houses, on oversize lots.  This is nonsense.

Old people, poor people, hell - just PEOPLE do not require a large home.  They require a warm, comfortable home somewhere that is fun to live.  It is impossible for a person making $1000 a month to be comfortable paying $500 plus a month on housing.

That is rent slavery - even if you have a mortgage, because good housing must first and always be affordable.


We believe we can supply new, comfortable, energy-efficient housing for older and poorer people.

The bottom 1/3 of American retirees live on under $1000 per month.

As Mennonite/Amish, we qualify to build modest, off-grid housing without the expenses of building "to code".  As long as the structures are not plumbed or have wire-wall electrical, they are considered sheds, and can be built efficiently and simply.

Under $4000 per home, Three room with loft.

16 units on 3 acres, Large well-equipped central "community center" with every modern Amenity....   but in each home, bottled water and chemical toilets for nights you just don't want to walk 20 feet to the nice warm modern bathroom.

Monthly payment under $100, you own it in 15 years.

Here are some examples of similar homes/neighborhoods:

We are considering begging for funds at traffic lights.

Begging is an honorable and honest way to make a living. 

Sister Rita Musante once told me that a beggar exchanges something of great value for your dollar bill - because the person who is able to give receives a full measure of the fruit of human kindness.

It matters not what the money is needed for. 

In our case, we need money to live, and money to purchase the land for our low-cost housing project.

We also provide shelter tarpaulins and waterproof blankets to the people who live under bridges here in our city.  "Zero Tolerance" policies do not allow the town drunk to go to the mission any more.... this is a great cruelty and a great sadness.

Since addiction is essentially incurable by modern science, why would you deny the afflicted basic needs?


So - we need money, we don't gather in big groups or "pass the plate", and we believe in the rich traditions of the beggar of the streets and markets. 

That is how poor people can get money to do important things.  Ask rich people to help.