A cool breeze blows through the home on Frenchman’s Drive as Stephen and Janice Trusty welcome an assortment of well-wishers to their front porch.
“We feel overwhelmed,” says Janice. “We are blessed.”
Less than six months ago, there was nothing here – just a scrap of unpromising grassy land scattered with shrubs and rocks. At the back of the property, in Frank Sound, was the cramped mobile classroom that Janice and Stephen called home.
Riven with mould, the building lacked proper plumbing, the timber walls were rotting, and mosquitos, scorpions and tree frogs had made themselves at home. The conditions were less than ideal, especially for Stephen, who has serious health issues.
An unprecedented community effort – involving donors, contractors and volunteers from across Cayman – has seen a brand new ‘tiny home’ designed, approved and built in record time.
Coordinated by non-profit Acts of Random Kindness, it is the first project of its kind in Cayman and a template for future action to change the lives of hundreds of families living in similarly unsafe conditions.
Building for the future
ARK founder Tara Nielsen said the charity is already moving on to its next project – a similar small, but secure, dwelling for an elderly woman whose home was destroyed in a fire.
“This is a dream come true,” Nielsen said Saturday as a small gathering of some of the key players in the project convened for a blessing ceremony on the front steps of the Trustys’ new home.
“It just goes to show how quick you can put a house up when you need to,” she added.
The project broke ground in September. Stephen and Janice were selected from a long list of families that qualified for support through ARK’s Cayman Casa programme because of their financial circumstances and living conditions.
Their home was in such a state of disrepair it proved more cost-effective to build a new one from scratch.
It’s an option that can work, said Nielsen, when people own their own land, to take advantage of the one genuine asset they have and avoid displacing them from their community.
“These houses should be all over the island, and they will be,” she said.
Combined effort
It is not an easy or inexpensive option, however. Artex Risk Solutions which was the lead sponsor, contributed $75,000. Arco architects designed it at no cost and much of the labour and the fixtures and fittings were donated for free.
The smooth tile in the bathroom will be familiar to anyone who has stayed at the Kimpton Seafire Resort. The hotel developer, Dart Enterprises, donated much of its excess materials to ARK to use in projects like this one.
The extent of the undertaking means that the charity has to be selective about who it helps and how many projects it can take on. Nielsen said the charity is laser-focussed on the areas of greatest need.
“Hope and vision and everybody coming together made this possible,” she said. “We hope that this is the first of many houses that we build together as a community.”
Housing issue revisited
She said the minimum that any family in Cayman should have is a roof over their heads, power and water, and a working bathroom and kitchen.
The Cayman Compass worked with ARK last year to highlight the hundreds of families in Cayman whose living conditions fall below that basic level.
Our series focussed on the hidden poverty beneath the surface affluence of the islands’ community. Nielsen said more and more people are beginning to understand and pay attention to the level of need in parts of Cayman, and the charity continues to get strong support from donors and volunteers.
Osbourne Bodden, a former politician and community figurehead in the Bodden Town and Frank Sound area, brought the case of the Trustys’ living conditions to the attention of ARK and the Compass last year.
Speaking at the blessing ceremony at the new home, he highlighted our coverage, including an interview with the Trustys in front of their old home as one of the catalysts for renewed action on the issue.
“This started with a conversation under the tree over there,” he said. “We discussed overall (housing issues) as well as their particular situation and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Cayman’s Hidden Housing Crisis
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Bodden told the Compass, in that conversation last year, that there could be thousands of people living in unfit conditions, and said it was the responsibility of the community, not just government, to help them.
Speaking at the weekend, he said ARK’s project encapsulated that vision and he encouraged government, charities and businesses to capitalise on the enthusiasm and energy from the project to help more people in a similar fashion.
Minister for Social Development André Ebanks said government views housing as a multi-faceted issue that has to be addressed in partnership with the non-profit and private sector. He just released $1.5 million of government’s budget for a separate project, channelled through the non-profit R3 Foundation to repair hundreds of houses damaged last year in Tropical Storm Grace.
“The way we approach this has to be in partnership,” he added.
Ebanks stressed the tiny home project was not connected to government.
“I came to see this but I am not here to take away the thunder from the people who did this,” he added. “This was a community effort.”
Built to last
Nielsen said the house was built to last. It is as storm-proof as any home in Cayman and, unlike the previous off-grid dwelling, is up to building code, connected to power and water, and serviced by a functioning sewage system.
She said there are still hundreds, if not thousands, more families and homes that are similarly in need, and ARK and its donors and partners are working to get to them – one by one.
“As the months go by, we just have to find and identify the families who own land, who will never be in a position to provide safe and clean decent housing and put boots on the ground and start building,” Nielsen added.
A functioning home is not just about access to basic needs; it is key for mental and physical health, she said.
Stephen Trusty suffers from multiple illnesses and his comfort and well-being was a priority for this project.
“We hope this will give you another 20 years at least,” Bodden told him Saturday.
‘Bless this house’
Reverend Rohan Forrester highlighted some of the intangible benefits of the project during his blessing, praising the spirit of the community that had made it possible. He prayed that it would be a place of laughter, friendship and grace for the couple, as well as a place of shelter.
“We seek God’s blessing on this house, that it may not only be a dwelling, but a symbol of how God provides for God’s people everywhere,” he said.
“May this home be a place of happiness for all who enter it, a place for growing, a place for music and celebration and laughter, a place for games, a place where each of them find the comfort of always knowing that they’re accepted and loved unconditionally, by the wider community.”
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To help the program grow quickly, offer those in line for a home to volunteer on others’ homes so that they are built quickly and efficiently. They will all work together to rapidly help build solid, safe homes for each other!