State Agencies Celebrate Opening of Knoxville Modular Tiny Home Community

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) and the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) proudly commemorate today’s grand opening of Angelic Ministries’ Studio Home Park Community in Knox County.

"In 2002, Betsy Frazier founded Angelic Ministries to help those in need by providing individuals and families with clothing, household items, furniture, food, toiletries, and other items with no judgement on why they needed such items,” said Parker Bartholomew, Angelic Ministries Board Chair. “Over the last two decades, Angelic Ministries has established itself as a prominent organization that has supported thousands of families in crisis by helping foster upward mobility and breaking the cycle of poverty. Angelic is excited to announce the next step towards affordable, sustainable housing with the completion of the state’s first modular tiny homes. This was only possible because of the TNDMHSAS CHI Grant, and TDCI’s Commissioner’s Inspection Program.”

Completed with $219,500 in funding through TDMHSAS’s Creating Homes Initiative (CHI) grant program, five modular tiny homes were built for use as permanent transition housing for residents of Angelic Ministries’ substance abuse recovery program.

“The Creating Homes Initiative was born out of a desire to think creatively and collaboratively about meeting the needs of Tennesseans living with mental health or substance use issues. And now nearly 25 years later, this collaboration among state agencies and Angelic Ministries is producing new creative and cost-effective solutions which will help the residents get back to the lives they want, reconnect with family, find meaningful employment, and participate fully in their communities,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.

The TDMHSAS Creating Homes Initiative (CHI) began in 2000 under the leadership of then-Commissioner Elizabeth Rukeyser as a way to establish permanent supportive housing options for people living with mental illness. Seeing the success of the program, Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly expanded it twice to support people recovering from substance use disorder and people re-entering communities after incarceration. Since 2000, CHI has created more than 36,000 housing options and leveraged more than $1.3 billion in state, federal, local, foundational, and other funding sources.

The five homes, which were constructed by Newport-based Incredible Tiny Homes, are the first in Tennessee that have been constructed and approved through TDCI’s Commissioner’s Inspection Program (CIP) within the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office’s Manufactured Housing and Modular Buildings Section.

The CIP was developed to allow for the construction, inspection, and use of tiny homes and similar structures for permanent residential use by consumers. The program ensures consistent and safe manufactured home design, construction, fire resistance, and overall quality.

“The Angelic Ministries project is a fantastic example of how two state agencies can work closely together to help members of a local nonprofit better serve their community and create a stronger Tennessee,” said TDCI Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Carter Lawrence. “I congratulate Angelic Ministries on this historic milestone for their organization and for Knox County. I hope that the success Angelic Ministries will have with this project will be replicated by other nonprofit groups in other communities across Tennessee.”

“Incredible Tiny Homes is proud to be the first modular tiny home company in Tennessee along with developing the largest tiny home community in America,” said Randy Jones, company founder. “Our homes provide affordable housing from a starter home to a retirement home. Our homes and communities provide a secure and stable financial future for their owners. With the Tennessee Modular Buildings Act and the Commissioner’s Inspection Program, you can now live in a tiny home anywhere in the State of Tennessee.”

The opening of the Studio Home Park Community occurs today (Aug. 15, 2024) at 10:30 a.m. (EST) at 3430 Zion Lane, Knoxville TN. Media outlets are encouraged to contact Angelic Ministries for coverage details about today’s event.

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