News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Mustard Seed Ranch will soon break ground on two new family homes.
Mustard Seed Ranch Director of Development Brandon Stephenson said the new homes will total 7,800 square feet and provide for a growing need in the community.
“We get calls on a weekly basis for kids who are requiring placement or in need of placement,” Stephenson said. “Unfortunately, all too often we don’t have the space or capacity to do so.”
Each two story home will serve either boys and girls and include a basement for utility space and growth, a central main living area for house parents and their family, and an upstairs that will serve as the kids living space.
Mustard Seed Ranch provides safe housing for kids that have been victims of abuse or abandonment or in need of placement before potential DCS intervention or state programs.
“It looks a lot like foster care, we have house parents that live here on the property and they function as mom and dad for these kids,” Stephenson said. “These kids get to have a mom and a dad here that are taking care of them and providing their needs. They don’t have to worry about where they are going to sleep at night or where they’re going to get their next meal.”
J&S Construction has donated all fees associated with the in-house architectural design for the homes as MSR looks to break ground later this spring.
“We’ve been waiting for these homes for quite a while,” Stephenson said. “We are on year three of a three year capital campaign to get these things rolling, so we are excited to be in the home stretch and see the new faces of these kids that these homes are selling hope for.”
