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WV students building ‘tiny homes’ for flood victims

Journal photos by Jeff McCoy High school students from several different high schools in the area work on the tiny home project at James Rumsey Technical Institute recently in Martinsburg.
Journal photos by Jeff McCoy
High school students from several different high schools in the area work on the tiny home project at James Rumsey Technical Institute recently in Martinsburg.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The flood waters that ravaged many communities in the southern part of the state have displaced thousands of people, and many are homeless still.

That’s why James Rumsey Technical Institute (JRTI) wanted to get involved and will make sure at least one family has a roof over their heads this winter.

High school and adult students came together to make a difference.

“Some of those individuals have land where the home were, but they didn’t have the funds to replace (their homes). The West Virginia Department of Education has given all the CTE (Career Technical Education) centers in West Virginia the opportunity to build this ‘tiny home’ in what we call our simulated workplace,” said Janice Davis, learning center secretary for the school. “The simulated workplace deals with the high school students. It’s not only a teaching time for the students, it’s preparing them for the field. It’s what they would be doing if they showed up for work at eight o’clock. I’m excited that James Rumsey has decided to do this.”

The program is statewide and funded in part by a grant from the West Virginia Board of Education. If a school chooses to participate, they were given guidelines on the size of the home but the design was left to the students and their instructors.

James Rumsey Technical Institute electro mechanical instructor Eric Armer is surrounded by students and teachers as they review ideas on a floor plan for the tiny home project to benefit flood relief in southern West Virginia.
James Rumsey Technical Institute electro mechanical instructor Eric Armer is surrounded by students and teachers as they review ideas on a floor plan for the tiny home project to benefit flood relief in southern West Virginia.

That hands-on experience is what many of the students want, but they said this time there are other benefits for them.

“Not only are we building something for someone else, we’re also building character for ourselves,” said Owen Siford, a senior at Spring Mills High School.

Many JRTI classes are involved with the construction of the home. Even students outside of the construction trade classes volunteered to paint the home and raise funds to stock it.

Student Dillion Munson is a member of Rotaract, and they are currently raising money and supplies for the house so the new owners will have furniture, food and other needed items when they move in.

“We are going to be getting donations and filling (the house) up with food and supplies and stuff like that, so (they’re) not just going down there empty. Pretty much anything you could need in a house, (they’ll have),” Munson said.

The public can help by taking goods to the school.

“They can bring it here, just ask for Rotaract to make donations for the tiny home (project),” Assistant Principal Kathy Morgan said.

The home is built to be 11 by 24 feet so it can be transported to southern West Virginia.

“We will contact the Air National Guard closer to the time that it is completed. They will be coming and picking this up and taking it down and presenting it,” Davis said.

Building a home and then giving it away to someone in need has the students thinking of other applications that their skill sets could be applied to.

“A building like this we could split into three and have three different homeless people living in there. Why couldn’t we take and build the walls like a puzzle piece where they are interlocking like a set of Legos? We could lag bolt them in,” Siford said. “We’d have a removable roof, removable walls and we could put it flat and move it to somewhere else. We could use a shipping container to build someone a home.”

The students say they are taking pride in their work and view this project as a mission.

“This morning when I woke up, it was 35 degrees, and you got people down there that probably has kids. I wouldn’t want my kids sleeping in a tent when it’s 30 degrees outside,” Siford said.

The students across the state participating in the tiny homes project will have to build the houses to a required set of guidelines, which include a bathroom, kitchen, sleeping area, living room, hot water heater, sewer hookup and be mobile so it can be moved to the site.

“This is a great project for kids to be doing to be giving back. When our students leave here, they really can go out into the workforce. They have a trade; they know what they are doing,” Davis said.

Staff writer Jeff McCoy can be reached at [email protected].

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