DANVILLE, Ill.—The CEO of one credit union here has been profiled in local media for her efforts to address homelessness and to guild financial stability in this community.
Hope Garrett, CEO of Education Personnel Federal Credit Union, told the News Gazette she is taking on both those challenges, though she knows she can’t do it alone.
Garrett attended a recent Step Up Vermilion County meeting to let those involved with education, mental health and substance abuse, housing, medical care and other services know a social-media page has been created titled “Tiny Homes of Vermilion County,” according to the report.
She also wanted to make more connections to see the initiative move forward.
Garrett said she’d been watching the tiny homes community for quite some time because credit unions have looked at them as a possible lending niche.
A ‘Drive’ for Community
“I’ve just been aware of the industry,” Garrett told the News Gazette. “But I also had a drive for many, many years to do something in our community. To help the people that are falling between the cracks.”
Garrett said she has taken inspiration from Homeboy Industries, a gang rehabilitation and re-entry program founded by a priest in Los Angeles to give people other options and job opportunities.
In 2024, Garrett entered a contest through the Illinois Credit Union League where she presented her idea, “Shark Tank”-style at the league’s annual meeting in Chicago, where she was chosen as one of three finalists.
Garrett’s idea didn’t win, she said, because it was not turnkey enough and was going to take more than a year to implement, but she won the popular vote, and “everybody in the room wanted to see it happen,” Garrett told the News Gazette.
In response, she began talking to people in the community, calling the reception “unbelievable.”
Looking to Form Foundation
Garrett said she is in the process of forming a nonprofit foundation to apply for grants.
“My credit union is spearheading it because credit unions are charged with building up our communities,” Garrett said. “We’re not for profit. We’re literally financial co-ops.”
Garrett said her CU’s board is “curious” as to how the effort will play out, but it also recognizes there are funds and resources to help.
‘No Illusions’
“I have no illusions this is a massive undertaking,” Garrett told the News Gazette.
She’s already looking for funding sources too, such as other foundations and businesses, like Lowe’s, and has plans to work with career and technical education students at Danville High School to help build some of the tiny homes. I
n addition, another general contractor, who was headed for retirement will instead be helping them, including with meeting all city codes, Garrett stated.
According to the report, stable housing is key to a stable life, he said, and the city hopes to help more people. Garrett said the city has sent her a list of empty lots to look at, and she’s determining where to start first. She said she envisions small clusters of maybe five to seven tiny homes in different areas.