By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
On the day before his 64th birthday, Michael Tolliver received something he hadn’t had in more than a decade: a place to call his own.
“Number 11. This is my house right here,” Tolliver recalled, describing the moment he first stepped inside his new micro-shelter and looked up at the artwork on the walls.
“I thought the mural provided a nice view.”
For Tolliver, a Birmingham native who has spent the last 11 years unhoused, the moment felt almost unreal.
Did he ever expect to have a home again?
“No… I found it… crazy,” he said, shaking his head at the thought.
Tolliver is the first resident of the City of Birmingham’s new “Home for All” micro-shelter village, unveiled Wednesday at Faith Chapel Care Center.
The $2.4 million project is a partnership between the City and Faith Chapel Care Center, a ministry of Faith Chapel Christian Center, working together to help the unsheltered population gain independence while offering a safe, temporary place to stay.
City leaders and community partners gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and guided tour, introducing a new model aimed at addressing homelessness through private, dignified housing paired with support services.
“This village represents hope… it represents innovation, and it represents the love that Birmingham has for our fellow man,” said Cory Stallworth, the city’s senior deputy director for Community Development.
For Tolliver, the opportunity is life changing.
“It’s a great feeling. A blessed feeling. Thank God, things are finally coming together for me,” he said.
After years of instability, he says even the simplest comforts now feel extraordinary.
Asked what he’s looking forward to most, Tolliver smiled and pointed to the basics—safety, rest, and a place that’s his.
“I won’t feel…,” he began, trailing off, but the meaning was clear: relief from the uncertainty he’s carried for over a decade.
City officials say the “Home For All” initiative is designed to be more than just temporary shelter.
“Housing is not just about walls and a roof,” said Megan Venable Thomas, the city’s Community Development Director. “It’s about stability. It’s about dignity and the opportunity to heal.”
The village offers wraparound services, including workforce development, healthcare access, and case management — tools intended to help residents transition into permanent housing.
Pastor Michael K. Moore of Faith Chapel emphasized the human impact behind the project.
“Every statistic represents one person’s story,” Moore said. “Our hope is that people will walk in one way but leave out transformed.”
City Councilor Darryl O’Quinn added that solutions like this are critical in addressing the complexity of homelessness.
“Our response cannot be one-size-fits-all,” he said.
Mayor Randall Woodfin called the initiative “a step in the right direction.”
“Shelter is not a luxury — it is a basic human need,” Woodfin said.
Tolliver said he learned about the opportunity through community connections and outreach, a reminder of how critical those networks can be.
Standing outside his new home, he reflected on the journey that brought him here—from years without stable housing to a door he can finally open and close on his own.
Now, as he prepares to move in on his birthday, Tolliver is focused on what comes next.
For more information on the Home For All initiative, go to www.birminghamal.gov/
