Michael Tolliver is celebrating a birthday Thursday that’s unlike any he’s had the past 11 years. During that time, Tolliver has been among Birmingham’s unhoused population.

But the North Birmingham native will be in a new group as he turns 64. He is one of 14 people who will go from living on the street to living in a new Home For All Micro-Shelter Village adjacent to the Faith Chapel Care Center, which will lead the operation of the village.

Several dozen people were on hand Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting and tour of the new facility.

Home For All is a city of Birmingham initiative designed to provide safe, dignified shelter and supportive services for residents experiencing homelessness.

“Shelter is not a luxury. It is a basic human need,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “The city of Birmingham has been and is committed to the care, compassion and safety of all of our residents, especially our unhoused. These micro-shelters are literally a step in the right direction. This goes even deeper than housing. The program combines wraparound service with personal responsibility to help participants rebuild stability and move towards permanent housing.

“The goal,” Woodfin said, “is to come alongside of them while empowering them also to do the work needed to gain a word we all can appreciate — independence. That includes workforce development opportunities, substance abuse recovery programs, medical services and case management services.”

Dr. Meghan Venable-Thomas, director of the city’s Department of Community Development, said what happened Wednesday afternoon was more than just a ribbon-cutting.

“It’s a declaration that, here in Birmingham, we are willing to confront hard truths and respond with bold, human-centered solutions,” Venable-Thomas said. “On any given night in our city, hundreds of our neighbors are experiencing homelessness. And for too long, the options available have asked people to navigate instability instead of truly supporting options for healing.

“Three years ago, this started as an idea, a question: What would it look like if we treated people experiencing homelessness not as a problem to manage but as neighbors deserving of care, safety and a pathway to home?”

Tolliver said he appreciates being placed on that path. He said he’s had difficult days and nights living on the street.

“It’s been rough because a lot of folks, they like to prey on what they see as the weak … because we’re out there living under bridges and in old cars,” he said. “That was my case. Life spiraled down after I lost my wife.”

The village was built with 15 units, with one serving as a security station. Thursday, 12 men will move into their dwellings. The Rev. Debra Blaylock, director of Faith Chapel Care Center, said other residents will be selected within a week.

“We brought people in that were considered chronically homeless, and now we’ve been able to build that relationship and trust with them where they accepted the mental health support or the substance abuse support and went through the programs,” said Blaylock, who is executive director of community outreach and development for Faith Chapel. “Now we have them in their own places. That’s going to be success for us.”

Blaylock explained that many chronically homeless persons are unable to stay in communal housing.

“We believe that this program will remove that barrier,” she said. “Now they have separate sleeping quarters and they have a security guard so they don’t have to worry about being attacked or whatever. We’re trying to remove the barriers to make it easier for the chronically homeless to come in.”

The Rev. Michael K. Moore, pastor of Faith Chapel, said the opening of the village is a celebration of what is to come.

“Our hope and our dream is that the people who will come into this community will walk in one way but will leave out transformed,” he said. “They will leave out empowered. We’re also here today because we understand and believe that every single person matters. It’s important to track numbers; it’s important to track statistics. But every statistic represents one person’s story; every need represents a real person’s name. I’m excited about this new community and how it will help real individuals to restore stability, to rebuild their lives and be resourced toward long-term independence.”

Site amenities include a raised-bed community garden, a community room equipped with televisions, bistro tables and a prep kitchen, an area designed for outdoor activities and bicycle racks. Overlooking the structures is a mural of birds, symbolizing resilience and a sense of belonging.

Residents won’t just hang around their homes. They’ll be active with responsibilities, such as taking out their own garbage.

“They have to agree to become a part of community service projects,” Blaylock said. “They’ll be assigned to make sure their units are cleaned weekly. They’ll have to also support helping keep the bathrooms clean. Even though we have a commercial company, we want to teach them how to do these things on their own. That’ll be a part of this program, including doing their own laundry with the laundry assistance provided to help them.”

So, they, like the birds on the mural, can take flight.

“We’re preparing them to be like the swifts on the mural, to fly away and be free and to move into their own places,” Blaylock said. “That’s what we’re preparing them for, to live on their own and be self-sufficient.”