MACV & Yardhomes Work To Provide Unhoused Vets With Small, Affordable ADUs

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans is looking for new ways to find affordable housing for unhoused men and women who served our country honorably.

MACV is partnering with Yardhomes to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in the back yards or on the property of already existing homes. Two are currently standing in the back of veteran transitional housing units.

MACV sees the addition of this new tool a game changer in housing homeless veterans.

It's clean, safe and affordable housing for veterans experiencing homelessness, built in a factory in greater Minnesota, shipped and then lifted by crane into place on its permanent foundation.

The 500-square-foot unit, for instance, sits in back of one of MACV's transitional homes, making it perfect for the veteran who may need to live alone.

"It is self-sufficient living; this isn't a 'tiny home.' You don't have to share a restroom with two tiny homes down the road there. You can cook your own meals there, you can do your own laundry there," MACV's Neil Loidolt said. "So if you are that person who needs some supportive services but really is best on their own, but still part of a community -- because we are putting these ADUs by our others' houses."

More homes for more people or veterans in more places, that's the goal and the focus of this partnership between MACV and Yardhomes. For veterans focused on home ownership, an ADU could be the perfect motivator for never wanting to return to living on the street.

"Just think, I have my own room. And I have my own kitchen in my room. And I have my own bathroom and I have my own everything else right there. That's an ADU," veteran Thomas Bundy said.

MACV says the key to ending veteran homelessness is finding affordable housing. So far, 27 cities in Minnesota allow ADUs as a cost-effective way to add housing.

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