A sense of community and peace is something that Grace Laurie hadn’t experienced in years.
Up until a few weeks ago, Laurie had been homeless. Retired and without family nearby, she had stayed at different shelters throughout Dallas.
Now, she’s among the first residents of a new planned community in Ferris, just 25 miles southeast of Dallas, in Ellis County.
“I came from The Bridge shelter. Melissa came from Austin Street. And Kenny, I think he said he came from Dallas Life,” Laurie said, referring to her new neighbors. “So we arrived, we sat out on the porch and we talked to each other.... I enjoy being here. I feel so blessed."
This neighborhood of 25 homes — about 550 square feet each — where neighbors’ front porches face each other, has been years in the making; the nonprofit OurCalling broke ground on the project in fall of 2024, and residents started moving into the homes earlier this year.
“You're not under a bridge, you're not hearing the traffic, there's no police cars in the background, you're listening to the silence," said OurCalling CEO Wayne Walker.
“We are on 280 acres, we have over 20 acres of ponds, to watch the wind blowing through the trees, and the grass in the field,” he said. “It is a beautiful sanctuary.”
The low-cost community is designed for people from Dallas and Ellis counties who are homeless and in need of long-term care. This includes elderly residents and people with physical disabilities or cognitive challenges.
The second phase of the project will build two additional neighborhoods as well as a central hub that will include a medical clinic, a cafe, laundry services, a chapel and coffee shop, among other services. OurCalling is fundraising $25 million for phase two, and construction will begin once funds have been raised.
“[We] have a lot of neighbors to get off the streets,” Walker said.
The community is meant to close the gap between independent housing and a nursing home, for those who need supported living or in-home care, Walker said.
“It is caring for someone else's aging parent,” he said.
Missional residents also live on site to help with day-to-day activities and spiritual needs.
Broderick Ellison, a deacon who grew up in South Dallas, moved in last month and has seen how residents who haven't had a permanent home in years get acclimated and help each other.
He said when doing this type of mission work, people often think they have to go to another country.
"Sometimes it's in our own environments, on our own streets with our own people, that we can serve in an amazing and impactful way,” Ellison said.
The sense of camaraderie is visible at the club house, where residents gather, where three meals a day are shared and people find fellowship.
Having to live on the street and in the shelter in recent years, Grace Laurie said she knows she’s at an advantage now.
“This is a community that you hear about,” she said, “not that you've experienced.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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