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What Makes a Village: Inasmuch creates a place to belong
- Details
- Wednesday, 05 August 2026
- Written by Tiffany Haywood
Sixteen Homes. One Community.
Born from neighborhood prayer walks, Inasmuch Village is designed to give veterans more than shelter — a permanent place to belong.
Taking back a neighborhood can be more than a tagline. Sometimes, it begins with people willing to walk through what is broken and believe it can become something different.
In 2023, the leadership of Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch was asking what should come next. The answer did not arrive as construction plans or a multimillion-dollar investment. It came as an instruction to walk.
On the fourth Friday of each month, staff members, volunteers and community supporters stepped beyond Inasmuch’s Hillsboro Street campus and into the four blocks surrounding it.
One step at a time. One block at a time. One prayer at a time.
They walked past discarded trash, neglected properties and houses known for drug activity. One of those houses stood directly beside The Lodge, Inasmuch’s residential program. They called it “the drug house” — not as a dramatic nickname, but because that was exactly what it had become.
As they passed it month after month, they prayed for the activity to end and the property to become something better. During seven months of prayer walks, questions continued to surface about what Inasmuch was doing for veterans, older adults, women and children.
The walks were becoming more than symbolic steps. They helped Inasmuch identify neglected spaces, listen to the neighborhood and consider how those spaces could serve the community differently.
At that point, Inasmuch Village did not exist, not even as a concept.
Then, in the eighth month, the Rev. Craig Morrison received a call from Mary Holmes of the Community Foundation. She told him there was someone she believed he needed to meet. Local developer Ralph Huff arrived with plans in his hands.
Huff already had a vision for permanent housing for veterans. Although construction could not begin until 2026, he wanted to start acquiring property and working through rezoning and permits.
Ralph and Linda Huff pledged an initial $2 million toward the development.
“He had everything drawn out,” Morrison said. “He had the plans for the cottages.”
By the tenth month, the house beside The Lodge had become the first property Inasmuch acquired. Morrison said the drug house was permanently shut down. The same process also led Inasmuch to donate three Orange Street properties to Habitat for Humanity for homes for women and children.
For Morrison, the need for permanent housing is visible through people Inasmuch serves, including Mr. Clyde, an older veteran who uses a wheelchair and attends the organization’s breakfast program. Morrison said his physical limitations mean his situation cannot be solved by simply finding a job or entering a short-term shelter program.
A 90-day housing option may help someone who can work and needs time to regain stability. It does not solve the same problem for a veteran living on disability or VA benefits while facing rent far beyond that income.
Morrison offered the example of someone receiving approximately $900 a month while trying to afford rent near $1,600.
“How can I even think of affording a $1,600 place to stay?” he asked.
Inasmuch Village residents will pay rent based on 30% of their income, giving them room to breathe while providing something temporary programs cannot: a permanent place to call home.
That is where Inasmuch Village is designed to be different — offering affordable housing within a built-in system of support.
The development will include 16 fully furnished, one-bedroom cottages measuring approximately 600 square feet each. Four will be ADA-compliant, while all will be built on slabs with open floor plans intended to improve accessibility. The cottages will also be pet-friendly.
Morrison explained that shelters often cannot accept animals, forcing people experiencing homelessness to choose between a bed and a pet who may have become their closest companion and family. At Inasmuch Village, residents will not have to make that choice.
At the center of the cottages will be the Linda and Ralph Huff Gathering House. Morrison envisions community meals, game nights, movie nights, celebrations and opportunities for churches and civic organizations to connect with residents.
It will be a place where neighbors gather, relationships form and residents are reminded that they do not have to navigate life alone.
When asked why the project matters in a military community like Fayetteville, Morrison shared the story of his youngest son, Braden, who was diagnosed with a hole in his heart as a child. Doctors repaired it, giving him the opportunity to grow and thrive.
“Our veterans are the heartbeat of this community,” Morrison said. “We can’t have a hole in our heart.”
Inasmuch Village is one way of helping make that community whole — not only by giving veterans a place to live, but by surrounding them with people determined to make sure they are seen, supported and remembered.
“You’re not alone. You’re not forgotten,” Morrison said. “There is a whole community here that loves you, that cares for you and that is here for you.”
The groundbreaking for Inasmuch Village is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. at 419 Chance St. The first residents are expected to move in during 2027. Applications are not yet open, and partnerships for support services are still being finalized.
When the first veterans receive their keys, Morrison wants them to feel at home, cared for and loved.
He asked readers to think about the people in their own lives who have served — a grandparent, a parent, a loved one or even themselves.
“Just like on that battlefield — no man, no woman left behind — we can’t leave anybody behind,” Morrison said.
For more information, visit https://www.inasmuchfay.org/
