AUGUSTA, Ga ()- It has been nearly 6 months since Bridge Builder Communities broke ground on a tiny home village in Augusta.

The Bridge Builder Communities will be a tiny home community that houses and provides resources to kids aging out of the foster care system.

“Many things have happened since groundbreaking. The biggest thing that you see here is that we are now under construction and we’re very excited about it,” said Joe Gambill, Board Chair for Bridge Builder Communities.

To people driving by the location on Merry Street, it may not look like much work has been done. But crews have been hard at work pouring the foundation of what will become an important resource in Augusta. Before long people will begin seeing years of planning, fundraising and work become reality.

“We’re getting our utilities in underground, all of the support systems that are needed for all 26 tiny homes, plus our community building. That’s what’s going in right now,” explained Gambill. “Once that’s finished, we move directly into what we call vertical construction, and that’s when those tiny houses are going to appear out of the ground.”

Housing instability is one of the biggest hurdles teens aging out of foster care face. Kids who are still in foster care when they turn 18 are emancipated or released from the system shortly after their birthdays. Many of them have no money and no family support.

1 out of every 4 kids who age out of foster care will become homeless within 4 years.

According to the National Foster Youth Institute, an estimated 20% of young adults who are in foster care become homeless the moment they turn 18. And nationwide, 50% of the homeless population spent time in foster care at some point.

For many, it just snowballs from there.

“So you’re talking 85% of them have some form of mental health illness. Then you’re talking about 71% of the young ladies from age out of the foster care system become pregnant. We talk about the 24- 25% of the kids as soon as they age out of the foster care system within the first year or two, they have an engagement with the juvenile justice system or the justice system,” said Jackson Drumgoole II, the founder and executive director of Bridge Builder Communities.

Bridge Builder Communities is already serving youth in Augusta. The progress on the tiny homes community gets them one step closer to fulfilling their mission.

“I’m most excited to see the young adults roaming the property in the near future and being served. My most important thing is serving that needs of that youth as soon as they walk through the door,” smiled Drumgoole.

The Bridge Builder Communities tiny homes community is expected to be completed and open for business sometime in the spring.

Photojournalist: Reggie Mckie.