A Light in the Valley
The Light Community will offer a fresh start for those in need.
Photo by Eugenia Jones Missionary teams from five states, including the latest group from a church in Augusta, Georgia, have volunteered to help with construction of tiny homes in The Light Community. Much of the wood used in construction has been recycled from the old flea market across from The Lord’s Café in Revelo on HWY 27. The Light Community is tentatively scheduled to open in the spring of 2019.
By Eugenia Jones
eugenia@highland.net
Crossroads Community Baptist Church (CCBC) Pastor Grant Hasty and his wife, Gina, are in the process of seeing one of their dreams for McCreary County become reality. Along with members of the CCBC congregation, other church missionary teams, and interested parties, the husband and wife team is excited to see a new community taking root in McCreary County-a community that will provide housing along with job and skill training opportunities to residents who need to get their lives back on track.
With missionary teams from five different states volunteering to help, Grant and Gina are ecstatic with the work already accomplished on the first four of twenty tiny homes that will make up The Light Community. Located in a peaceful valley in southeastern McCreary County on Osborne Creek Road, the homes will range in size from 300 to approximately 600 square feet with four two-bedroom, eight one-bedroom, and eight studio homes. Additionally, a prayer chapel is nearing completion and will provide a place for worship and Bible study within the community. Modelled after the Community First Village in Austin, Texas, McCreary County’s tiny home neighborhood will focus primarily on providing residences to those who (a.) are families at risk of being split up or are families in the process of being reunited who need a safe place to get traction (b.) are individuals who have completed addiction rehabilitation and need a place to keep on track with their sobriety (c.) are individuals who need temporary shelter because of house fires.
Residents living in The Light Community will be required to pay reasonable rent. Those who reside in the community after addiction rehabilitation will be subject to random drug testing and home checks to ensure residents are living up to their obligations. Residents will also fulfill certain requirements to learn financial responsibility, job, and parenting skills.
“A new outlook on life will take an investment of time and resources,” Gina Hasty noted. “One of the reasons for starting The Light Community is to help people get back on track with their lives. We also are aware when someone comes out of rehab, they need a place to go; however, they also need things to occupy their mind and spirit to help them stay on the right path. Grant and I feel The Light Community will provide this for them.”
With God’s guidance, the Hastys are optimistic The Light Community will become self-supporting as an artisan center showcasing the talents and skills of the residents to visitors and tourists. Featuring a garden spot, livestock, honeybees, equine therapy, and an artisan training center (with handmade crafting, quilting, basket making, and blacksmithing), the community will provide opportunities for residents to learn Appalachian arts, crafts, and basic homesteading. In time, an area or storefront will be established, either in the community or in town, where residents can demonstrate the making of crafts and sell the goods and produce made or grown within the community.
“The need for many people is to have a place to land,” Grant Hasty remarked. “Their need is for a place of their own where stability can be learned while having expectations and responsibilities. Like always as we go into our newest area of ministry, our goal with The Light Community is to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ.”
CCBC is actively seeking individuals, businesses, and organizations who would like to be involved. For more information, visit: http://www.crossroadscommunitybc.org/the-light-community.html.
