Manteca veterans currently experiencing — or at risk of being homelessness — could have a place to live besides the streets.
The solution involves 12 to 15 tiny modular homes grouped together on under-utilized property belonging to The Way Church on the northeast corner of North Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
The project — known as The Way Veteran Village — will consist of 200-square-foot one-bedroom “pods” with a spacious bathroom and living / dining quarters. The WellNest pod is ADA-accessible with high ceilings and can be powered via solar battery.
The City Council when they meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. will consider applying for a Homekey+ grant to fund the project in collaboration with The WellNest Group.
Manteca would be lead applicant to the California Department of Housing and Community Development grant program.
The proposed development of modular homes is designed to be fully accessible for mobility, hearing, and vision disabilities.
The project site, a vacant parking lot of The Way Church located at 715 E. North Street, offers existing infrastructure connections and will be improved with grading, utility hookups, pathways, green space, and drought-tolerant landscaping.
The design encourages neighborhood interaction while ensuring privacy, incorporates sustainable stormwater management practices, and provides safe, energy-efficient lighting.
The tenants would be veterans that are now homeless as well as those who are underhoused, unsuitably housed, or facing eviction.
Eligibility requires that participants:
*being a veteran as defined by the Veterans Administration.
*having an active diagnosis of severe mental illness, substance use disorder, or co-morbidity,.
*fall in one or more of predefined housing insecurity categories.
It is the goal of The Way Church to provide homes for Manteca’s homeless veterans
And they believe they can do so with The Way Veteran Village consisting of 15 tiny homes on underutilized church property on the northeast corner of North Street and Roosevelt Avenue.
The model being used in Manteca has more than 100 beneficiaries so far statewide.
It uses faith-based leadership, construction experts, ADU innovators, and nonprofit care providers to “united and empower local veterans.”
The ongoing case management doesn’t include services on site but makes sure they are readily available.
The last point in time count in Manteca showed there were just under 15 homeless veterans among the 238 homeless counted in January of 2024.
It is their hope The Way Veteran Village will get all homeless veterans in Manteca off the street.
They also hope other churches in Manteca with available land space might follow suit to build additional tiny homes for the homeless.
Since 2019, his church has been providing a safe parking program for the homeless, who can park overnight and sleep in their vehicles.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabuletin.com
