What was your first home ownership experience like?

For a group of formerly unhoused individuals, it meant moving into brand-new homes with just their personal belongings. Their fresh start in East Baltimore, has been made possible by Chris and Pam Wilson, a retired couple whose vision turned into reality.

It is called Hope Village, a tiny home community where families are now homeowners, some earning as little as $18 an hour.

The 13-house development is the result of years of dedication from the Wilsons who, after providing weekend meals to homeless children, sought a way to help these families build a more stable future.

“When we walked in, I couldn’t imagine that they were going to look like this,” Formithia Cox said as she gave a tour of the 480-square-foot home she shares with her husband, Marcel Cox. “It had everything down to the toilet paper.”

Their fully-furnished marital home is complete with accent walls and modern amenities.

For about $200 a month, the Cox family lives in a solar-powered home with a washer/dryer combination and a wrap-around porch. Home insurance is also covered for the first year.

Her husband, Marcel, had lived in subpar conditions before — unable to use his previous kitchen due to roaches and other infestations. He was one of the hundreds of applicants who earned his new home. Marcel kept a steady income, and took financial counseling, before moving in.

The colorful homes weren’t quite what Pam and Chris Wilson, the founders of Hope Village, originally envisioned. Chris, a marine adjuster, traveled internationally, seeing various living conditions.

He drew inspiration from one particular assignment abroad.

“As you go into Apapa Kwai in Lagos, Nigeria, you'll have a mile long of container houses,” said Chris. “That gave me the idea — why couldn’t we do something like that? Use steel shipping containers, which are strong, can withstand winds up to 175 miles per hour, and you’d never have to worry about termites.”

But architect Randy Sovich found that locals weren't ready to live in container homes.

Instead, he designed homes that resembled those in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood, aligning better with the Wilsons' vision of creating houses that would truly feel like home. After all, they were investing their own money in the $1.7 million dollar project.

Professionals such as Sovich worked pro bono. He said the compact design posed a challenge.

“These homes are smaller than what you might see in the city’s standard building permits,” Sovich said. “A lot of people think that because they're small, the houses are on wheels. But they’re single-family houses, they’re sprinklered, and they’re safe.”

After navigating a lengthy zoning process, the Wilsons partnered with Stacy Sapperstein of 28 Walker Development. Sapperstein covered construction costs, making it possible for each $200,000 house to be sold for just $25,000 with a 5% interest rate.

“We’re still fixing little things that need attention,“ she said. “ When I met these families — especially the children — for the time it was incredibly emotional. They’d look in and say, ‘Is that my bed?’ You can see how their lives are going to improve.”

Organizations such as the Baltimore Furniture Bank and Target Foundation chipped in, providing furnishings, gift-cards and other support.

“I wish there were more than thirteen homes,” Sapperstein continued. “Thirteen is just a drop in the bucket.”

Hope Village II is in planning stages, with the City aiming for completion by 2031.

Sovich, however, has a more immediate wish for current residents.

“Hopefully these houses will be places where people get to know each other, where they babysit for one another’s children, have meals together, and get along,” Sovich said.

The families have lived in the homes since December.

Asked if developments like Hope Village could cure nimbyism (not in my backyard), Chris chimed in that they were lucky no one in the Oliver neighborhood— where the homes are located— objected to their efforts.

“We didn't go in there with flashing things, “ he said. “We went in there and we talked. We said, ‘We're willing to invest our money in this block. And no one came back and said, 'Well, we don't want homeless people here.’ That did not occur.”

Pam chimed in. She said with time, nimbyism could dissipate.

“Certainly if there is enough land around, it could be done in other areas. Once there are many replicas of this, people may start to forget about nimbyism and say, ‘Oh, well, they're just people, and they have children, and they need this.’”

These days, the Wilsons are in high demand, sharing their concept with others across the country. They say their blueprint not only creates affordable housing but also reduces shelter costs by thousands of dollars annually.