‘Ready to Work’ construction project to provide homes for veterans in North Platte

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – A construction project at the Mid-Plains Community College Ogallala campus is building homes to help veterans in need.

Ashley Lewis, the executive director of The Connection homeless shelter, said that the Ready-to-Work Building Construction program will bring the tiny homes to downtown North Platte.

“Right now, not only in North Platte, but across our nation, we are experiencing a huge housing crisis, so we have moved our organization into helping with housing development that will serve people that we serve at the shelter as well as other residents of North Platte,” Lewis said.

Students at Ogallala High School and their MPCC campus will help build the tiny homes, which will then be purchased by The Connection for the property.

“This project was supposed to be a later phase of our housing ventures and came to fruition a little bit quicker thanks to Mid-Plains Community College,” Lewis said. “We are so grateful, we want to be able to provide housing for veterans. That’s their own space where they can build their lives, feel safe and be given the proper thanks for everything that they’ve done for our country.”

The property that is housing the tiny home community currently has apartments on it that have been deemed “unlivable.” The Connection is hoping to demolish those apartments and put a tiny home on the property as soon as possible.

Judy Pederson, a board member at The Connection and a housing committee chair, said that the project will not be finished without the community’s help.

“Our hope is to build this little tiny house village completely on grants and donations, so we’re really going to be looking to the community to help make this happen,” Pederson said.

There are different levels of donations. If you want to donate or get involved, you can contact Ashley Lewis or Judy Pederson at The Connection homeless shelter.

MPCC was awarded $20,000 from the Ratcliffe Foundation to fund the program.

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