TUR Mini Magazine Community Heroes Summer Edition | Page 7

Homes are not just given away to random people that the organization may
meet. There is a selection process in
order to make certain that the homes
would be cared for. Individuals interested in obtaining a “tiny home” have
to meet a criteria that has been designed to meet the needs of the small
community. First they have to do
community service to be able to get
on the wait list. Once on the list, they
help collect resources and then assist
in building the homes. A contract will
need to be signed and they have to
meet the approval of the OM Board.
Rules of conduct need to be followed
to insure that everyone is safe. Each
candidate must volunteer 30 hours to
even be considered for a home. Once
they have been chosen, candidates

The Urban Release

have to volunteer an additional 500 hours to be able
to live in a tiny home. They
must also remain an active
member of the tiny home
community and attend
meetings, assist the community with clean up, help
with the general store and
work security.
“We have three homes currently being lived in at our site and two being built. One as a house for the next
person to live in and one as a kitchen,” representative of OM Build,
Brenda Konkel said. They have a design in place with goals of having
a retail store, raised bed gardens, a
greenhouse and possibly chickens.

OM Build plans to gather donations,
resources, and use the money they
have collected in the retail store to
expand in Madison, in hopes of other organizations having the ability
to start up across the country. The
money collected “is 100% profit except our time, but giving our time
usually results in a really good sale,”
Konkel stated. 

Tiny houses is a potentially faster
and more affordable way to house
the homeless than going through
the usual political channels and
can surely assist people who are
in need. This community gives individuals hope and provides them
with the tools needed for a better
future.

If you are interested in donating to
Occupy Madison, feel free to send
a check to P.O. Box 949 Madison, WI 53701. All donations are
tax deductible as Occupy Madison, Inc. is a 50c3 Non-Profit Organization. For more information
on OM Build, visit their website at
occupymadisoninc.com.

Community Heroes

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