1st Source Bank Foundation helps Homeward Bound Villages create community through affordable housing with $15,000 grant

This story is part of a series on 1st Source Bank Foundation’s grant program. Learn more about the program and the impact it has on communities across Northern Indiana here.

Housing is one of the greatest human needs, but increasing prices on everything from materials to labor has made finding affordable housing difficult for many throughout the Region. Housing insecurity places people at risk and can lead to spiraling issues that can be difficult to recover from. Homeward Bound Villages is providing a solution in La Porte County.

Founded in 2017, Homeward Bound Villages is creating community and providing affordable housing through its Karwick Village project. Using its Village Model, which creates forever affordable rental units while empowering residents through a cooperative governance system, Homeward Bound Villages is addressing housing insecurity in its community.

“Homeward Bound Villages was founded by a couple of community-minded individuals that saw an incredible need from people struggling to find decent, affordable housing,” President Sandi Keller said. “We spent time doing a lot of research, understanding different options and models before ultimately deciding on a model for creating affordable housing.”

Homeward Bound Villages’ model gives residents freedom in governing their community by forming a cooperative with its own distinct governing board. This self-organization is designed to give residents a greater sense of pride in their community, fostering connection and awareness. It also helps to keep costs lower.

“Our mission statement is ‘Creating community through affordable housing.’ While we create housing, it is largely in a small village setting,” Keller said. “Units are built close together and smaller to make them more eco-friendly, and they’re run as a cooperative community, so residents share in their community’s governance and its day-to-day operations.”

Karwick Village is Homeward Bound Villages’ first project and will help build the playbook for getting future villages running. Keller and her team are doing everything they can to set residents up for success, from providing educational resources to calling on experts for their experience. The first residents at Karwick Village will be able to take full advantage of these opportunities and are already developing the community that Homeward Bound Villages hoped to build.

“We’re seeing some natural organization already happening with residents in the village taking care of things – organizing cleanups, deciding how trash is collected, communicating among each other – but it takes real intention to shepherd that development,” Keller said. “We want to make that repeatable. We want to walk away with a playbook so that, as we build more and more villages, we know we’ve got a good framework.”

One of the current projects happening at Karwick Village is the construction of a community center. The building will serve as a communal space that residents can use to conduct meetings, cook meals, host classes, and more. It’s an important step in developing a thriving community. It’s also where the monthly resident-led co-op meeting will be held, directly letting residents make decisions impacting their community.

“The community center is the beating heart of the village,” Keller said. “It’s like the community living room or the community dining room. It’s the spot where the community will really flourish and grow.”

The construction of the community center is supported by a $15,000 grant awarded by 1st Source Bank Foundation.

“At 1st Source Bank Foundation, we believe stable, affordable housing is fundamental to building strong, thriving communities,” Matt Vessely, West Region President at 1st Source Bank, said. “Homeward Bound Villages’ innovative approach not only provides quality housing, but also fosters connection and shared responsibility among residents. We’re proud to support the Karwick Village project, which will create a lasting impact for families in La Porte County.”

Community support over the decade-long process of developing Karwick Village has been nothing short of tremendous. Keller and her team’s commitment to providing affordable housing, as well as donors and grantors like the 1st Source Bank Foundation, have helped to keep the project alive through hurdles and setbacks, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Community support has been quite overwhelming,” Keller said. “It’s a monumental undertaking to do any sort of development or new construction. To not just accomplish it but to look around and see the support and those that came with it really helps us continue to do our work in the community.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Karwick Village and Homeward Bound Villages’ work creating community through affordable housing, visit homewardboundvillages.org. Updates as Phase 2 of development progresses can also be found on the organization’s Facebook page.

1st Source Bank Foundation helps fund local projects making a significant impact on their community. For more information visit 1st Source Bank Foundation’s page.