Mad Housers collaborate with Tech students on hut

By Sijia Cai and Hamza Hasan

Contributing Writers

In 1987, Michael Connor and Brian Finkel, graduate students from Tech's College of Architecture, founded an organization to combat homelessness in Atlanta. They named it Mad Housers, and after recruiting friends and volunteers, began investigating the socioeconomic causes of homelessness. With detailed plans and operation blueprints, the group designed their first hut, a 6' by 8' by 10' plywood box.

Today, Mad Housers, Inc. is an Atlanta-based, non-profit corporation that does charitable work, research and education. In addition, the organization helps people develop skills for constructing and rehabilitating housing and acts as an advocate for homeless civil rights. True to the initial goal of reducing homelessness in a new and more efficient fashion, the Mad Housers are best known for their construction of frame-and-plywood huts, which each include a loft, locking door and wood burning stove for cooking and heating. Requiring about two full days of human labor, these huts provide practical safety and privacy from the elements.

Current Tech students are carrying on the work that Connor and Finkel started two decades ago. Professor Hugh Crawford's Honors English 1102 class decided to dedicate a full semester to studying the history and status of homelessness, especially as it relates to each person's idea of a home. Earlier this month Dr. Crawford's class collaborated with Mad Housers to create their own version of a "homeless hut." The class's interest grew towards Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, whereupon they built the hut.

With the advice of Mad Housers member Nick Hess and online building plans, the hands-on project simulates what Mad Housers volunteers did in 2002, when they built a hut on Tech campus and slept in it that night to increase awareness about homelessness in metro Atlanta.

"The artifacts that you find in the hut represent a lot of the research the students were doing. As a teacher it's been a remarkable experience because my students...have sort of just grabbed hold of this," Crawford said.

Crawford did not grade his students on their ability to build these huts, but rather reviewed their extracurricular commitment to their efforts. The students built the hut and furnished it by their own initiative.

"The students took the initiative in this project...they were willing to work independently and cooperate in various tasks besides simply building the structure," Crawford said.

The hut was taken down earlier this week for improvements from SmartTech. It will be rebuilt and put on display in the Neely Lobby of the library next January, complete with digital interface, documentaries, and video clips of visits to the homeless community. The awareness of the Mad Housers and homelessness in general will be open to viewers with extensive research on the issue.

"We are hoping that our efforts will help raise awareness about homelessness in Atlanta," Crawford said. "Both the students and I feel a sense of fulfillment because we did some good in the community."

To learn more about the Mad Housers program, you can go to http://www.madhousers.org to find out more, including information about how you can help.