Homeward Bound Villages recently cut the ribbon on La Porte County’s affordable housing cooperative.

County, state and city leaders gathered at the Karwick Village site Nov. 15, in Michigan City for the ribbon cutting and key presentation to future residents. The community welcomed the first residents of Karwick Village to their new homes. Karwick Village currently has six finished affordable housing units.

Homeward Bound’s mission is to create community through affordable housing.

“We started as a big, bold idea that our community could come together to create cooperative, affordable homes, that is now a place where families will sleep, kids will do homework and neighbors will borrow sugar and keep an eye on each other’s pets,” said Sandi Keller, Homeward Bound Villages president, in a press release.

The ceremony marks the culmination of years of planning, fundraising and partnership to bring Karwick Village to La Porte County.

“This project has never been about the buildings alone,” Keller said. “City and county leaders who said ‘Yes, this matters,’ funders and donors who took a chance on a small non-profit with a big vision, construction partners who problem-solved through weather delays and a thousand or more tiny details, and most of all, it’s about the future Karwick Village residents…you all are the reason that we kept going on hard days. This place belongs to you, and we are honored to walk alongside you.”