PORT ANGELES — Dozens of volunteers raised the walls of a tiny home in a Pennies for Quarters work party Saturday.
The nonprofit organization plans to build a community of small houses to serve as transitional housing for homeless veterans.
“Once the sides go up, you’re like: ‘Yes, it looks like something,‘“said Debbie Swanson, vice-president of the Pennies for Quarters board.
Swanson and other volunteers who were gathered at Hartnagel Building Supply near Port Angeles hoped to have the exterior of the demonstration tiny home completed today. They plan to be at the site at at 3111 U.S. Highway 101 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.
“The porch will be done and the roof is going on,” Swanson said.
“They’re trying to weatherize it right now.”
The tiny home was being built in a highly-visible section of the parking lot on Highway 101. The structure will be used to promote Pennies for Quarters in festivals and parades.
Pennies for Quarters is seeking donations for materials and a location for its community of 40 tiny homes.
A shared central building in the village will provide space for counseling, laundry, dining and other programs geared toward helping veterans living in the homes to overcome issues that caused them to be homeless.
The goal is for them to be able to gain employment, live on their own, and to accomplish their personal aspirations, officials said.
Each home costs about $10,000 to build.
An anonymous donor helped pay for the tiny home being built this weekend.
Saturday’s work crew included students from Peninsula College’s green building program. A Cascadia Productions crew was on hand to film the project.
Swanson estimated there were as many as 40 volunteers helping to build the tiny home Saturday.
“People have come and gone,” she said.
Pennies For Quarters was founded by Matthew Rainwater, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and chair of the Clallam County GOP.
For information or to donate, go to www.penniesforquarters.org or mail checks to P.O. Box 1705, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
