Buckley nonprofit, collective farm help give a veteran a new home

Mike Lane lived in a tiny house with no plumbing or electricity for ten years. His dream of having those amenities has come true.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misnamed the organization housing Vietnam Vet Mike Lane and his new tiny home. The business is The Roots Collective Farm, not Goodroots Collective Farm. The article has been updated.

A Vietnam War veteran has a new home, in large part thanks to some Buckley nonprofits and businesses.

On Jan. 17, Operation Tiny Home officially presented Mike “The Grizz” Lane with a new tiny home in Buckley at The Roots Collective Farm off of state Route 410.

The ceremony was an emotional affair.

“Today is such an incredible, beautiful day,” Gabrielle Rapport, Executive Director of Operation Tiny Home, said to a small crowd. “… Not only are we gifting this home to an amazing veteran, this is a full circle for me, because this journey began with this veteran for me. Operation Tiny Home would not exist without this veteran.”

The “incredible history” of her organization, she said in an interview later, started when she was 11 years old. Since then, Operation Tiny Home has become a national nonprofit that focuses on veteran housing instability via tiny homes.

Lane was a family friend of the Rapports, and she has fond memories of him while growing up.

But about a decade ago, she learned that Lane was living in a condemned RV. She scrambled to help him find a home by starting a crowdfunding campaign and getting “anybody who would listen” to support him.

At first, the plan was to get him into shared housing, but due to his PTSD and various other medical conditions, living around other people was not a good fit.

But Lane already had an alternative in mind.

It was “his ‘dream’” to own a tiny home, Rapport said. “I had never even heard of a tiny home before.”

While crowdfunding was bringing in some funds, Rapport also turned to the Home Depot Foundation, which agreed to help — but she had to create a nonprofit first.

“As a result of us giving him the support he needed to fulfill his dream, Operation Tiny Home took on a life of its own,” she said. “From that, we’ve been building homes and doing projects and supporting veterans and… way beyond veterans… for ten years now.”

After receiving some funds, Lane, who was 70 at the time, spent five years building his home.

Even though the ceremony was about Mike Lane and his new home, the Vietnam vet stepped away from the speeches to find a coat for a young woman.

Even though the ceremony was about Mike Lane and his new home, the Vietnam vet stepped away from the speeches to find a coat for a young woman.

“I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t draw a plan,” he said in an interview after the ceremony. “… I built it like I pint my paintings. I don’t have them all planned out.”

The result was a 128 square-foot living space — roughly eight feet wide and 16 feet long — that had water, but no plumbing or electricity.

But time stands still for no man and Lane, now recently turned 80, needed a new space that would help him age-in-place, not to mention a home that didn’t require dragging himself out of bed to use the community bathroom at night.

Operation Tiny Home was more than willing to provide its assistance, but they needed a partner for where the new home would reside.

That’s when The Roots Collective Farm entered the scene.

The farm, founded and run by Todd McKellips, doesn’t just grow food for local businesses and nonprofits; it bills itself as a special purpose for-profit business and a sustainable “agri-hood” of tiny houses for people who enjoy the alternative lifestyle and those who are seeking a way out of homelessness.

McKellips himself had a stint where he was homeless after he received a traumatic back injury while he worked for the Pierce County Sheriff’s department 20 years ago.

Since then, McKellips became enmeshed in the tiny house movement as a way to address homelessness, especially in the veteran population. Not only does McKellips run The Roots Collective Farm, but is the state chapter leader for the American Tiny House Association and the director for the Washington Tiny House Association.

Mike Lane receiving the keys to his new tiny house from Gabrielle Rapport. On the keyring is a compass, so he can always find his way home.

Mike Lane receiving the keys to his new tiny house from Gabrielle Rapport. On the keyring is a compass, so he can always find his way home.

“[Operation Tiny Home] has been… the impactful things I’ve ever been a part of, and it’s because of times like this,” McKellips said at the event. “It’s because you put in the work, and then there’s this beautiful payoff where you get to stand back and look at something that’s physical that is so obviously going to change someone’s life. And today is another one of those moments…”

The new 256 square-foot tiny house was partially built by the Buckley-based nonprofit Building Beyond the Walls, which provides free construction education for local residents while also constructing building projects around the county. In this case, it was building Lane a wheelchair-accessible porch.

“Working on Michael’s deck and ramp was especially rewarding as he was on site with us, making us smile and showing his appreciation often. Getting to see Michael’s eyes light up as it came together was fuel for the soul, especially on the very cold and rainy days where we were soaked to the bone,” said Building Beyond the Walls Director Sue Z. Hart. “While all our projects give back to the community, ramps are especially rewarding as we get to know the recipients more intimately and see first-hand the life changing impact it will have.”

Arrow Lumber also provided materials for the tiny house.

Lane’s new abode is not only complete with electricity and plumbing, but also a Murphy bed, an art easel/painting space when the bed is folded up, and a kitchen.

“I’m going to learn to cook with food bank stuff,” he said; The Roots tiny home village is located right behind GoodRoots Northwest, formerly known as The Market (and before that, the Bonney Lake Food Bank). “And then I can write a food bank cookbook.”

Volunteers and employees with Operation Tiny Home, Building Beyond the Walls, the Roots Collective, and other organizations celebrating Mike Lane's new home, which was still receiving finishing touches as speeches were given. Photo by Ray Miller-Still
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