Groundbreaking And Dedication Ceremony For New Vision Village Planned For March 22

A Groundbreaking and Dedication Ceremony for New Vision Village is planned for 11 a.m. Friday, March 22, at The Epicenter on The Ridge, 1279 Chestnut Ridge Road, Philippi, Barbour County. Mrs. Gayle Manchin, Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, will be the main speaker for the event.

Also speaking as part of the program will be Scott Adkins, State Director of Workforce West Virginia; Herman DeProspero, Market President, North, MVB Bank; and Rev. Matthew Watts, Director of Hope Community Development Corporation. Youth from the Mountaineer Challenge Academy will be presenting the colors. The public is invited to attend, and lunch and work opportunities will be provided following the groundbreaking ceremony.

In December 2023, the Board of Directors of FHLBank Pittsburgh (FHLBank) announced approval of awarded grants under the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and awarded grants through a voluntary housing grant initiative. The New Vision Village project, sponsored by MVB Bank, received $750,000 through the AHP to build the first five tiny homes for youth aging out of the foster care system. The event on March 22 is an important celebration for the project.

“The New Vision Village is an important work in progress. We are on the road to becoming a sustainable community filled with love and opportunity. The starting point for the Village design is understanding the unique needs of disconnected youth ages 18-24, especially those who are aging out of foster care and are homeless and unemployed,” said Ruston Seaman, CEO and President, New Vision Renewable Energy. “New Vision Village is committed to supporting transitioning young people entering the world of work and responsibility, helping them to make positive next steps in that journey. As a supportive community, we believe assisting at-risk young men at this critical stage of life development will have positive long-term benefits for individuals and society. Our blueprint plan calls for a village of 24 units on seven acres of land in the Chestnut Ridge Community of Barbour County, the operations headquarters for New Vision the West Virginia Leadership Foundation, a non-profit 501c3 organization. The 2023 AHP award is a great gift that will fund the first five units to be built and then one fifth of the infrastructure, road and septic system.”

When completed, the village also will accommodate adults who will serve as mentors to the youth, Seaman recently told NPR in an interview. The goal is to establish healthy multi-generational relationships as key ingredients for the village to thrive, according to Seaman. As part of a supportive community these adults will care for and help the young men at a critical stage of their development learn to become contributing members of society. Seaman said people with strong life experience like retired schoolteachers, veterans, and others will assist in supporting the residents and creating a sense of family in the village. There would also be two full-time employees, including a property manager and a relational coordinator.

“MVB Bank strives to be a trusted partner on the financial frontier, committed to the success of our teammates, clients, shareholders and communities,” said Herman DeProspero. “MVB was pleased to support six successful FHLBank AHP award winners – including the New Vision Village – in West Virginia in 2023.”

Seaman said design plans call for the building of a manufacturing hub or factory and a heated warehouse that will house early production of the tiny homes. He said New Vision’s job training program will be incorporated into the process. Eventually, New Vision Village hopes to produce 70 tiny house units a year. The need for housing for transitioning foster youth has never been higher and Seaman said fundraising efforts for the village will continue. Seaman told NPR that “It takes a village” has become a real life metaphor for New Visions’ commitment to providing a safe, healthy environment where youth can develop and flourish.

West Virginia has the highest population of children placed in foster care by percentage, in the United States,” Seaman said. “We had received a one-year grant to do a national report on the state of affairs for kids when they are aging out of foster care. That led us to this whole initiative because so often, young people on their 18th birthday then become homeless, 38 percent which is a national tragedy, and 58 percent of the men end up in trouble with the law within the first 18 months after aging out of foster care.”