Prototype house offers a look at Micah Ministries’ planned supportive-housing community

Photo by John L. Williams/The Spotsylvania Gazette

During Sunday’s open house, I toured the Jeremiah Community prototype and spoke with Micah Ecumenical Ministries Executive Director Meghann Cotter, pastors from Micah’s member churches and volunteers involved with the project.

Approaching the house, the front patio looks like a relaxing place to unwind after a long day at work or time spent participating in community activities. Opening the front door reveals an inviting, single-level layout, with the living room, kitchen and dining area connected and easily reached from one another. It has the welcoming feel of a home—a place anyone would be proud to call home.

The furnished red house at 404 Willis St., across from The Oberle Academy, is a prototype for Jeremiah Community, a planned permanent supportive-housing neighborhood off Bragg Road in Fredericksburg. The community is intended for people who have experienced chronic homelessness and need more support than conventional rental assistance and scattered-site housing can provide.

Atlantic Builders led construction of the prototype with assistance from HomeAid, trade partners and students from The Oberle Academy. The house was completed in approximately 72 hours.

“A lot of things can happen in three days. Apparently, you can build a house,” Cotter said during the Sept. 10 dedication. She emphasized that the project itself grew from years of relationships, planning and work on behalf of people experiencing homelessness.

Jeremiah Community is not a separate church or ministry. It is an initiative of Micah Ecumenical Ministries, a Fredericksburg-based nonprofit established in 2005 by downtown churches seeking to coordinate their response to homelessness.

Micah began by helping people survive on the streets through meals, clothing and winter shelter. Its work expanded to include the Neighbor Care Center, housing placement and stabilization, medical respite, Hesed House bridge housing, the Cold Weather Shelter, health-care navigation, employment assistance and Micah Street Church.

Micah describes its mission as cultivating “a continuum of compassion with unhoused neighbors” and its vision as a community in which all neighbors have a home.

NINE CHURCHES, ONE MINISTRY

Micah is governed by nine Fredericksburg congregations:

• Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
• Fredericksburg Baptist Church
• Fredericksburg United Methodist Church
• The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg
• Shiloh Baptist Church — New Site
• Shiloh Baptist Church — Old Site
• St. George’s Episcopal Church
• St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church
• Trinity Episcopal Church

The coalition brings together Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic congregations, including historically Black churches.

The Jeremiah Community name refers both to the biblical prophet Jeremiah and to a man who lived on the streets of Fredericksburg for 27 years. Micah says his experience represents the needs of people whose disabilities, trauma and loss of supportive relationships can make it difficult to maintain housing without long-term assistance.

Jeremiah Community is planned as more than a collection of houses. Micah describes it as a “life-sharing community” where residents can live affordably, develop relationships, participate in meaningful activities and receive continuing support.

The project’s first phase is expected to include 50 small homes, a community center and supportive services. Longer-range plans contemplate as many as 109 small homes and additional housing and service facilities.

A REGIONAL NETWORK

The nine churches govern Micah, but the Jeremiah Community project draws upon a much broader regional network.

Organizations identified as service partners include the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, Rappahannock Goodwill Industries, Fredericksburg Department of Social Services, Mary Washington Healthcare, Germanna Community College’s nursing program, Fredericksburg Christian Health Center and Central Virginia Health Services.

Planning, development and professional partners include SupportWorks Housing, Atlantic Builders, HKS, SDI, Tricord Companies, KTGY, architect John Burger and the Hirschler law firm.

Virginia Housing, the City of Fredericksburg, the Stafford County Economic Development Authority and Mary Washington Healthcare also have been identified as important project partners.

The network is designed to connect housing with behavioral-health care, physical health care, employment assistance, public benefits and the continuing relationships Micah believes are essential to long-term stability.

As of Sept. 11, Micah had raised more than $12 million toward the $17.5 million needed for the first phase and seven years of operating expenses. The funding includes $2.9 million in congressionally directed spending secured by U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

The prototype offers visitors a tangible look at what those investments are intended to create. It does not resemble an institution or temporary shelter. From the front patio to the open interior, it looks and feels like a home.

PHOTO CAPTION

The Jeremiah Community prototype house at 404 Willis St. in Fredericksburg was opened to the public Sunday. Atlantic Builders, HomeAid, trade partners and students from The Oberle Academy completed the furnished, single-level house in approximately 72 hours.

Photo by John L. Williams/The Spotsylvania Gazette

SOURCES

• John L. Williams, site visit and conversations with Micah representatives, pastors and volunteers, Sept. 13, 2026.
• Micah Ecumenical Ministries, official website, accessed Sept. 16, 2026: https://www.micahfredericksburg.org/
• Jeremiah Community, “Who We Are” and project information, accessed Sept. 16, 2026: https://www.jeremiahcommunity.org/who-we-are/
• The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region, “Micah Ecumenical Ministries Agency Fund,” accessed Sept. 16, 2026: https://www.cfrrr.org/micah-ecumenical-ministries-agency-fund/
• Adele Uphaus, “With prototype complete, planning for Micah’s Jeremiah Community builds toward home stretch,” Fredericksburg Free Press, Sept. 11, 2026: https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2026/09/11/a-firm-foundation-wi…

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