Dreamtree Project

Forging community relations is very important for the success of community projects. In 1998 New Mexico was the poorest state in the country. One-quarter of its residents and over 40.5% of its children under the age of five lived below the poverty level. HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)  committed money and this project to Dreamtree to work with the community and start working on solutions.
A local philanthropist donated the land, with a 2000 sq. ft. structure on it. He simply liked the idea that local teenagers would be building a facility for their peers. Dreamtree Partnered with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and were able to bring on a construction crew to have them teach the teens how to build. it took much effort to get this building to pass Taos building codes but throughout their struggles construction started. The stress didn’t stop there but continued through construction with expensive tools being stolen, falling behind schedule, change in plans and construction details and a very tight budget. Finally, the project was complete. By the time the project was done there was a community relationship that was forged into the teens. not only did they have a place to be safe but a place to sleep and call home with genuine pride.