Happy 2024 & The New York Times!

On Monday, January 8, 2024, the New York Times published an extensive article about Community First! Village that you may find interesting:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/headway/homelessness-tiny-home-austin.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare 

I love the fact that the Village is getting such great exposure.  As I’ve mentioned before, I made the documentary to help introduce CFV to the country and the world.  Obviously, the New York Times has large footprint, so kudos to the NYT!

2023 marked the 25th anniversary of Mobile Loaves & Fishes. Check out some of their amazing highlights from 2023: 

- Lifted more than 100 men and women off the streets and into a permanent place to call home in Community First! Village;

- Began construction on their final home on Phase 2 of the Village, bringing their total number of built homes to more than 500;

- Broke ground on both their Hog Eye Road and Burleson Road expansion properties, which will make room for 1400 additional homes; and

- Opened the “Living Room”! A new community gathering space giving the residents many new avenues to connect with fellow neighbors, staff, Missionals and volunteers.

More than 360 formerly homeless individuals now call Community First! Village home! 

Remember, the harshest part of winter is still to come, so please keep our homeless neighbors in mind when making your annual contributions or when you see them on the streets.

Village of Lights at Community First! Village December 1 & 2 and 8 & 9

Share the Christmas spirit, explore the Village, and see a very festive display at the Village of Lights on December 1st & 2nd and 8th & 9th at Community First! Village. Experience choreographed lights set to Christmas music, shopping in the Holiday Market, and so much more! On December 1st, Home Alone will be played at the large outdoor amphitheater and The Grinch (2018) will be showing on Saturday, 2nd. This event is really fun for the entire family. RSVP at mlf.org/village-of-lights!

KLRU and National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week

Our documentary Community First, A Home for the Homeless will air again on KLRU (the local Austin PBS channel) this Tuesday, November 14 at 10:00pm. If you know people in the Austin area, please pass this on! Thanks KLRU!

Also, National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week starts Saturday, November 11 and runs through November 18. As stated on their web site:  “Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is an annual program where people come together across the country to draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness.  Participating groups spend the week holding a series of educational, service, fundraising, and advocacy events.”  If you can participate in any of these activities, that would be great!  If not, please consider making a donation to an organization working to fight hunger or homelessness - there are many to choose from. And, of course, there’s always Community First! Village.

60 Minutes, 3D Printed Homes, & Community First! Village

For those of you who don’t normally watch CBS’ 60 Minutes or missed it this past Sunday (October 15), there was a great story about the 3D house printing pioneer ICON.  They are based out of Austin and have invented a revolutionary process for “building” dwellings.  And, Community First! Village has the distinction of having the first 3D printed house.  As part of this fascinating story about ICON, they feature this first home built at Community First! Village by interviewing Alan Graham and the resident that lives in that 3D printed house.  I think you’ll find the story about ICON’s process and the connection to Community First! Village very interesting.  Here’s a link to the 60 Minutes segment: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/company-3d-prints-houses-on-earth-partners-with-nasa-to-3d-print-on-moon-60-minutes-transcript/

Global Peace Film Festival Revisited September 24-October 1, 2023

I am thrilled to have been invited by the Global Peace Film Festival 2023 to share Community First, A Home for the Homeless as part of the “encore” selection in their festival this year. The film will be part of their Virtual Festival which runs from September 25-October 1, 2023. Community First, A Home for the Homeless will be available starting September 24 at 11:00pm CDT (you’ll have 6 days and 23 hours to start watching. Once you begin, you'll have 48 hours to finish watching).

In addition to offering the film, they have posted interviews with the filmmakers, and I was honored to be included. To watch this interview with the producer/director of the documentary Layton Blaylock and conducted by the Global Peace Film Festival Director, Nina Streich, and Global Peace Film Festival Artistic Director, Kelly Devine, click here.

More Well Deserved National Exposure for Community First! Village

On Friday, April 7, 2023, NBC’s Today Show aired a segment about Community First! Village. Here’s a link to that segment: https://www.today.com/video/how-this-faith-based-town-is-helping-end-homelessness-168379973662?fbclid=IwAR2bve2KlLKX_hTQFfA8ncNcq7lE-y2zxt_-SN7GPkRzikZrqj0W0GFAxeU

I love seeing this shining example of a successful solution to homelessness get a national platform! If you’d like to see a more in depth story about the Village, you can rent or buy our documentary Community First, A Home for the Homeless here.

National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week - November 12-20, 2022

National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week starts Saturday, November 12th and runs through November 20th.  As stated on their web site:  “Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is an annual program where people come together across the country to draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness.  Participating groups spend the week holding a series of educational, service, fundraising, and advocacy events.”  If you can participate in any of these activities, that would be great!  If not, please consider making a donation to an organization working to fight hunger or homelessness - there are many to choose from. Of course, there’s always Community First! Village, and every little bit counts!

Speaking of Community First! Village, they just broke ground on 127 new acres of property that will add 1,400 micro-homes — bringing the community to a total size of 178 acres featuring 1,900 micro-homes.  What they are doing is truly revolutionary and remarkable!

One last thing, winter will be here before we know it, and the frigid temperatures are a major challenge for our neighbors living on the streets.  Any thing that you can do to provide some relief is extremely helpful, and can be life saving!

With Thanksgiving coming up, we have a lot to be thankful for.  Please keep our unhoused brothers and sisters in mind and consider giving them a hand up in whatever way you can.

Screening of "Community First" at the 2022 Kansas Housing Conference!

I’m very excited to announce that Community First, A Home for the Homeless will be screening at the 2022 Kansas Housing Conference in Wichita, KS on August 30th. In its 17th year, the annual event brings together housing professionals from across the state and region to network, learn, and explore the latest trends and innovations in affordable housing.  Their mission is to help Kansans access the safe, affordable housing they need and the dignity they deserve.  The three day conference has a wide agenda with a variety of speakers.  We’re thrilled and honored that our documentary has been selected to be part of this event.

The LOVE Collection at Community First Market!

For those of you who may not know, Community First! Village has a fantastic online market (it's also a physical place in the village).  It is appropriately called the Community Market, and they have some lovely items there.  Many of the products are handmade by the residents.  Currently, they are promoting The LOVE Collection, "this collection is a tribute to the city where Mobile Loaves & Fishes originated 24 years ago and the city where communities came together to create a place of belonging and permanence for our once homeless neighbors. You helped create this community that we love so much. Wear and share the love from our new collection (inspired by Austin's iconic “I Love You So Much” mural located on the side of Jo’s Coffee on South Congress Ave, a symbol of love for Austin locals and visitors)!"  There is a wide range of really cool items at the market that make great gifts for friends, family, or yourself.

Fine Art Prints, Cards, Etc.

If you’re looking for some beautiful fine art prints from a hand crafted collection, you must visit the online Community Market at Community First! Village. Each piece in the collection is painted by the residents living in the Village. They are professionally printed on museum-quality paper, signed and numbered by the artist, and limited to 25 prints. The artists earn a dignified income creating art through the Community Works program. You owe it to yourself to take a look!