Sebastopol church builds huts to provide beds, storage to homeless neighbors

Hidden from view of traffic along Gravenstein Highway Saturday morning, a steady hum of activity was unfolding in the Community Church of Sebastopol’s parking lot.

In one corner, a volunteer used a miter saw to cut pieces of lumber to size, the echo resounding through the otherwise quiet space. Across the parking lot, another volunteer painted the facade of a small hut — itself made from the lumber cut by the miter saw and connected to form a structure. A trio of other volunteers laid panels of flexible insulation over the inverted U shape of the hut’s roof.

Two years of planning had led to this week, said Peggy Porter, another volunteer and member of the church’s outreach team.

“It’s pretty wonderful to work with this group of people,” she said, looking around.

By the end of the weekend, the volunteers from the church hoped to finish construction of two Conestoga huts, each resembling a covered wagon and about 60 square feet to accommodate a bed and limited storage space. The two structures will provide two participants at a time in the church’s safe parking program for people experiencing homelessness with a bed to sleep in and a secure place to store belongings as they actively seek more permanent housing.

Because the huts are cheap to make compared to some other forms of temporary shelter, Porter and others wanted to share their journey.

"We thought maybe it might encourage other people, too,“ said Judy Davidson, another church member involved with the project.

The church’s safe parking program has been in place for about five years, volunteers said. At the beginning, Catholic Charities vetted the applicants, but West County Community Services has taken over the job.

People who park at the church are approved to do so for around a year. They have access via key code to a set of bathrooms, including showers, and more sporadic access to the kitchen, Porter said. With the recent departure of two women who had been parking there, a total of four people are now staying there each night.

Approval for stays in the huts will also be time-limited. Porter said the team is considering a six-month approval, with renewals available as an option. Anyone sleeping in them will also be expected to remain connected to social services geared toward helping them secure long-term housing.

The two Conestoga huts at Community Church of Sebastopol are expected to open around mid-November.

Porter learned about the Conestoga huts about two years ago, as she was researching ways the church could further support their unhoused neighbors in Sebastopol.

She even paid a visit to Eugene, Oregon, where the nonprofit that invented the design, Community Supported Shelters, operates. It has built and continues to operate Conestoga hut communities that number in the dozens.

“I came back pretty fired up,” Porter said.

From there, the church began pursuing a permit from the City of Sebastopol to build two units. They purchased the construction manual from the nonprofit and raised funds to cover the costs of materials, which usually come in around $2,500.

Chris Dawson, another volunteer, said only some members of the team working to build the huts have prior construction experience.

“They’ve got a really easy process to follow,” he said of the manual from Community Supported Shelters.

Volunteers said other groups interested in safe parking programs or the Conestoga Huts can reach out to the church to learn more. Learn more about the church’s homelessness outreach, including contact information, at www.uccseb.org/HomelessSupport.php

You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ka_tornay.