The Carroll County Community Foundation (CCCF) has awarded a $10,000 matching grant to ECHO Village to help with construction of the Christopher Paul Epley Hospitality House, planned as a community meeting space and emergency housing.
CCCF Executive Director Janell Robertson said their local volunteer board members created this matching grant opportunity by using the grantable dollars they have available through their endowment for home improvement for Carroll County.
“That’s part of our Board of Directors’ responsibility – not only to be ambassadors for the foundation, but be our eyes and ears in the county,” Robertson said. “The affordable housing issue and increased homeless is a real concern. ECHO Village is working to address the issue, which matches up perfectly with this endowment’s focus and purpose. It’s an exciting opportunity to double your donation by contributing now to the Epley Hospitality House.”
The matching grant is quite generous, according to Suzie Bell, co-founder of ECHO Medical Clinic and Village.
“This is very exciting,” she said. “If we can raise $10,000, the Community Foundation will match it and we will be $20,000 closer to our goal, which is awesome.”
The Epley Hospitality House will be a community facility with a large kitchen for the residents to gather where they can have classes, training and companionship. There will also be a space for the resident manager’s office.
“Most important, the upstairs will be divided into housing for people in crisis,” Bell said. “One side will have bunk beds for males and the other side bunk beds for females. This will support families in crisis who are housing insecure. Downstairs we will have bathrooms with showers, and they will have the ability to use the large kitchen downstairs. We have had families whose house burned down, and they have nowhere to go. We have also had victims of domestic violence who have had to escape very quickly. This will be the place to help them navigate this terrible situation until they get settled.”
ECHO Village has small homes, which leave residents with no place to gather with other residents or for family holiday gatherings. Bell said they envision the Epley Hospitality House as being a place where people can take classes on how to manage finances, write a résumé, raise children, and garden.
“We will individualize classes based on what people need,” Bell said.
Bell and her husband, Dr. Dan Bell, have made major donations to the project and several other community members have also made substantial donations. They have raised about $173,000 towards their goal of $275,000 for the project.
“This is a beautiful way to honor a very beloved young man, Christopher Epley, who was well known in the community,” Bell said. “He was tragically killed in an industrial accident in 2017.”
The ECHO Village currently has 11 completed homes and three under construction, affordable housing for people who have struggled with housing insecurity. A total of 26 homes are planned.