La Porte County, like much of the U.S., faces a housing crisis. Families working full-time can’t find affordable homes. Seniors on fixed incomes stretch every dollar just to keep a roof over their heads, and with rising energy costs, they’re pushed to the brink. The rental market in La Porte County faces significant challenges, including a shortage of rental houses, homes in disrepair, and rents rising faster than wages. The affordable housing gap isn’t just a statistic. It’s the teacher driving 45 minutes to work because they can’t afford to live near the school. It’s the family doubling up with relatives because there’s nowhere else to go.
Homeward Bound Villages witnessed this crisis first-hand as our two founders observed unhoused individuals who were working consistently yet could not secure affordable housing to rebuild their lives. Our founders knew that something had to change; there had to be truly affordable housing in our community, with rents that stayed stable, and homes in great condition that offered a safe, happy life for those in need.
A Different Kind of Solution
Most approaches to affordable housing follow a familiar formula: build units, subsidize rent, and hope the funding holds. Homeward Bound Villages took a different path entirely. Our model is built on a cooperative rental structure, where Homeward Bound Villages retains ownership of the land and structures, and where residents aren’t just tenants, they’re members. Karwick Village residents have a stake in their community, a voice in how it’s governed, and access to housing that remains affordable not just for today, but permanently.
This “forever affordable” commitment is what sets us apart. Traditional affordable housing can lose its affordability when subsidies expire or market conditions change. Our cooperative model, with Homeward Bound Villages retaining ownership and Karwick Village Cooperative leasing this property, builds affordability into the structure itself, creating housing that serves working families for generations, not just a grant cycle or affordability period.
Building Affordability to Remain Forever Affordable While Kicking Off the Cooperative at Karwick Village
After nearly a decade of planning, fundraising, navigating zoning, and building community buy-in, we broke ground on Karwick Village in the spring of 2025, making history as La Porte County’s first cooperative housing development.
Located in Michigan City, Karwick Village’s Phase 1 includes 6 units designed for one- or two-person households, a population often overlooked in affordable housing development. The smaller unit footprints, 500 square feet, aren’t a limitation. They’re a deliberate design choice that keeps costs low, reduces energy use, and builds a density of community that larger developments often can’t replicate.
The groundbreaking wasn’t just a ceremonial photo opportunity. It was the result of achieving the Phase 1 funding goals without incurring debt. This, combined with the ability to attract consistent, dedicated philanthropic support, enabled Karwick Village to maintain its goal of keeping the units permanently affordable for those with extremely low incomes.
“This was an incredibly special day,” said Sandi Keller, Homeward Bound Villages President. “There is something so moving about standing on the site with so many community members, faith leaders, and partners with one common goal: bringing affordable housing to La Porte County.”
With Phase 1 nearing completion and our first six families living at Karwick Village, our community moves into a working co-operative, with residents leading. The Kwarick Village working group is working toward transitioning to a fully community-led co-operative, bringing the goal of Karwick Village from a fact-based idea to reality.
Why La Porte County Can’t Afford to Wait
The numbers behind the housing crisis in La Porte County are stark. Studies estimate the county needs more than 4,000 additional housing units to meet current demand, including at least 240 affordable units and 660 mid-income housing units for teachers, nurses, retail workers, and tradespeople who keep our communities running. The current vacancy rate hovers between 5 and 6 percent, well below the 7-8 percent considered healthy for a functioning rental market. That tightness drives up rents and squeezes out the very people our economy depends on.
Approximately 48 percent of La Porte County residents fall into the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constraining, Employed) category. For these households, the stress is not only financial but also constant; they are working but cannot afford the cost of living. This income level is commonly associated with significant housing instability, which is linked to worse health outcomes, lower academic achievement among children, increased work absenteeism, and greater strain on social services. When families cannot find stable housing, the entire community bears costs that rarely appear on any single budget line but are very real.
We are working to tackle this not only by building units but also by changing the conversation and educating our community and beyond about affordable housing. By presenting affordable housing as a right, an economic development issue, and a community health issue, we are hoping to shift how decision-makers and donors view the stakes.
Changing the Landscape Means Changing the Policy, Too
One of the less visible but critically important parts of our work is the role we hope to play in shaping local zoning policy conversations. For too long, single-family zoning requirements and minimum square-footage rules have made it nearly impossible to build the smaller, more affordable housing types that working families need. We consistently advocated for more equitable zoning practices, including limiting single-family-only zones and allowing smaller home footprints, to give developers and nonprofits the flexibility to address the housing gap.
This kind of advocacy doesn’t make headlines the way a groundbreaking does, but it’s what makes future groundbreakings possible.
What Comes Next
Karwick Village is nearing the completion of Phase 1. Phase 2 is on the horizon, with plans to expand the cooperative and raise the Community Center building at Karwick Village. Our mission is to create community through affordable housing, and Karwick Village Cooperative is our mission in action.
The housing landscape in La Porte County is changing, but the gap remains large, and the work remains challenging to bring true affordable housing to our communities. We hope that Karwick Village demonstrates that affordable housing can be beautiful. Community-oriented and innovative. That affordable housing can be built on dignity, community, and the understanding that housing is not a luxury. It is a foundation and a basic human right.
