Every Wednesday at the westside Lynhurst Baptist Church, there’s a free meal waiting for anybody who wants one.
The church’s pastor, Benjamin Wakefield, said it’s meant to be a drive-thru meal.
“But more and more,” he said, “they’re walk-up meals.”
That’s because the church — like so many other groups in Indianapolis — is trying to serve a growing homeless population. Now, thanks to a partnership with another organization, Wakefield hopes to have more to offer by the end of the year.
Sanctuary Indy, a nonprofit that works with people who are homeless, is working with the church to build a community of tiny homes and duplexes. The organization will have a 99-year lease for undeveloped land that the church owns on South Lynhurst Drive near West Washington Street.
“It’s been very organic,” Sanctuary Indy’s executive director, Michelle Shelburne, said. “It’s a grassroots movement.”
Sanctuary Indy has been trying to do a similar project on the far east side. The organization is still fundraising to build that community.
There’s still some fundraising to do to get the first tiny homes built on the westside site, too. And the project still needs zoning approval from the city.
But one of the tiny homes is already built. It’s sitting in a fenced-in area next to the church.
How it works
The community would be built in three phases.
First, there would be six tiny homes. Each unit would cost about $50,000 to construct, Shelburne said, and they need to build five more.
Next would be 10 duplexes for families. The plan is for those families to have access to some of the church’s services, such as a pre-K program and recovery support groups.
The final part of the project would be a community center, where events and programs could be hosted for residents.
The community center would also serve as a meeting space for residents and case workers, who can help with things such as food assistance and ID documents.
“We don’t just house people and forget about them,” said Sanctuary Indy’s outreach coordinator, Stacie Jasorka.
Sanctuary Indy and the church received a grant from Congregations with Community to help fund services and assist residents with things such as furniture and grocery gift cards.
The plan is to have the six tiny homes built this winter, with the rest of the project being completed next year.
A 15-year dream
For Wakefield, who’s been the pastor at Lynhurst Baptist Church since 2009, this kind of project has been in the making for a long time.
The church bought the property 15 years ago. The goal, Wakefield said, was to help people experiencing homelessness. But the church didn’t have the resources or expertise to make that happen alone.
“It’s really just been sitting on and waiting and praying for the right opportunity to come along,” Wakefield said.
The church has that now with Sanctuary Indy.
And besides, Wakefield said, some people experiencing homelessness are already sleeping on the land where the homes and community center would be.
“It’s already happening,” he said, “just without the shelter.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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