By the Numbers
Jan. 1-May 10, 2026
700–Families served
1,129–Nights of lodging ($250,000 equivalent hotel costs)

Since 2018
Nights provided:
14,145–Tiny Houses 
1,257–League House
1,044–Hotel 
201–Salvation Army 

Houses for Healing Info
Location: 3065 Hickory St., Abilene, TX 79601
Mailing Address: Box 2320, Abilene, TX 79604
325-673-4673 
https://housesforhealing.com/
Click here to donate. 

By Loretta Fulton

“It Takes a Village to Create a Village”

That might well be the unofficial motto of Houses For Healing, which relied on a village of churches, individuals, and foundations to create a village of tiny houses that provide free housing for families of patients undergoing medical treatment in Abilene. 

The ever-expanding village is located at 3065 Hickory St., just a couple of blocks south of the interstate. Groundbreaking was held for the first tiny house–400 square feet–on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Ten years later, the village consists of 20 tiny houses, with another 10 under construction. Since 2018, Houses For Healing has provided 16,647 nights of lodging, which is equivalent to $3.6 million in hotel costs. 

“No other place does what Abilene does,” said Brian Massey, founder and president of Houses For Healing. “We’re the model.” 

Brian Massey in front of two tiny houses in the Houses For Healing

Massey had the vision for Houses For Healing a decade ago when he was president of Rainey Creek Management, which managed rental properties, and pastor of Sonrise Ministries. His passion lay with the sick and those who care for them, and he brought that passion to life with Houses For Healing. Each of the current 20 houses is named for a county in the Abilene area, plus one for first responders and one for veterans. The next 10 will be named for families or an individual. 

Churches in area counties refer families to Houses For Healing and support the ministry by providing food, transportation, and other necessities for families staying there. This year, 700 congregations in the Big Country have sent patients and families to Houses For Healing. Even though the houses are named for area counties, people from farther away have found refuge in one of them.

And, if a tiny house isn’t available, Houses For Healing pays for a room at a hotel, the League House at Hendrick Medical Center, or the Salvation Army. Houses for Healing is a 501 C3 nonprofit. Sonrise Ministries has since merged with Hope 4 Life Church on Rebecca Lane.

Brian Massey with a map of counties that refer patients to Houses For Healing

The first four tiny houses, Phase 1, were built on the west side of Hickory Street, and the next 16, Phase 2, were built on the east side of the street. Massey originally envisioned 20 houses, which was the total number of houses Phase 1 and Phase 2. But land became available next to the 16 houses on the east side of the street, and now 10 more houses will be built as Phase 3. 

Recently, the shell for the first tiny house in Phase 3 was built by students in Forrest Harmel’s construction classes at the LIFT (Leadership and Innovation in Future Technologies), which is a part of Abilene ISD. 

“We try to inspire students to be do-gooders for Jesus,” Massey said. 

Students from AISD’s LIFT Center stand in front of a tiny house shell they built for Houses For Healing

Phase 3 will feature five houses for families with a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and five for people awaiting an organ transplant in a Dallas/Fort Worth hospital. The patient and a caregiver live in the tiny house while waiting for the call that an organ is available. 

Houses For Healing started as a ministry to people in the Big Country, but it has grown far beyond that now. In 2022, Houses For Healing opened a ministry in Jerusalem, under Massey’s guidance. 

“This is something we can all do together around the world,” Massey said. 

Locally, a recent addition to Houses For Healing was a 3,600 square-foot, two-story building that was named Yeshua’s Workshop, the Hebrew name for Jesus. The symbolic name reflects what Houses For Healing is.

“This is his work,” Massey said, gesturing to the complex of houses. 

Aerial view of Houses For Healing, Yeshua’s Workshop, Cave of Elijah

The downstairs part of the building houses a large conference room where the 18-member Leadership Council meets once a month. Houses For Healing, which is overseen by the council, has one full-time employee and two part-time employees. Massey is the unpaid president.

“My wife (Karen) is the breadwinner,” he said. 

The conference room with a kitchen, also is available as a meeting space for other organizations. The downstairs floor also contains a laundry room for Phases 2 and 3. Phase 1 includes individual washer/dryer hookups. The upstairs floor contains the “Upper Room” prayer room, Massey’s office, and an office for the full-time employee. 

Massey had a personal experience that proved to be the motivation for Houses For Healing. When his mother developed leukemia, the family spent Christmas 2005 at Baylor Hospital in Dallas while his mother underwent treatment. A church in the Dallas area provided an apartment for the family to stay in. His mother died in 2010, and Massey has never forgotten that kindness. 

Community gathering in Yeshua’s Workshop at Houses For Healing

His inspiration for Houses For Healing is Matthew 25, verses 35-36:
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Abilene had nonprofits to take care of five of those needs, Massey said, but nothing existed specifically to temporarily house the sick and their caregivers. 

“That’s the one we had not been doing at a grassroots level in a big, big way,” he said. 

With the completion of Phases 1 and 2 of Houses For Healing and construction beginning on Phase 3, Massey believes all six imperatives have been covered.

“It completed the list,” he said. 

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene