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Nova Scotia opens tiny home community to address homelessness

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UPDATED: Miles Street tiny home project delayed until 2026

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Read the full story and comment on Tbnewswatch.com

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Ginoogaming First Nation (Reserve), Balsam Road, Thunder Bay District, ON

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Ginoogaming First Nation (Reserve), Balsam Road, Thunder Bay District, ON

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Ginoogaming First Nation (Reserve), Balsam Road, Thunder Bay District, ON

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High school students are building tiny homes for First Nations in northwestern Ontario | CBC News

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An Elder in Ginoogaming First Nation is in the process of moving into his very own tiny home - built by high school students in northwestern Ontario. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the home's arrival. Here's how the program works and how both students and communities are benefitting.

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Tech millionaire builds 99-unit tiny house neighborhood for homeless Canadians

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Marcel LeBrun made millions as a software executive. But then, he devoted his fortune to affordable housing.

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/27/homelessness-homes-micro-charities

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With a single bed, a chemical toilet and a phone charger in a very tight space, a "micro sleeping pod" is very much basic living. But for those that live in the tight shelters, set up by a charity, they provide a link between living on the streets and finding more long-term accommodation. And then there is the cost - at £10,500 for the pair, the pods in Newport, Wales are significantly cheaper than building a flat, according to Amazing Grace Spaces.

From Bristol to London, architects, planners and charities are developing unique styles of accommodation to cope with the housing crisis. With private rents increasing and the local housing allowance frozen until at least 2020, homelessness continues to spiral - last year Shelter said at least 320,000 people were homeless in Britain, up 4% on the previous year.

Although the government says it has delivered more than 430,000 affordable homes in England since 2010, research from the National Housing Federation and Crisis found this was not enough, with 340,000 a year needing to be built until 2031 to address the shortage. As a result, charities and organisations are trying to find new ways to plug the gap.

But are they the way ahead? In Newport, Amazing Grace Spaces co-founder Stuart Johnson says the tiny pods act as a safe space. "We have a general shortage of housing, but especially single person's accommodation and, even if available, the rents are out of their reach.

"It is very difficult for someone living on our streets to get back into accommodation and it is a big jump. Just saying we need more permanent housing without helping those that cannot access it, isn't helping anyone."

The Homeless Foundation took a similar approach when it launched its iKozie micro home, a self-contained, fully furnished one-person home with cooking facilities, washing machine and bedroom, in Worcester in September 2017.

Trustee Kieran O'Donnell says such properties need to be financially viable. "We looked at the most efficient way to provide as much accommodation as possible with limited resources. If it would cost £120,000 for a one-bed flat but we could produce something for £40,000 with the same accommodation, it was a no-brainer."

He says that the unit has been valued at £80,000, proving the long-term financial viability of this approach as it will appreciate in value and become a valuable long-term asset for the charity. There are plans for a further 16 iKozies in Worcester.

Similarly, YMCA has, in the past, developed tiny homes for single occupants, with a housing development of 36 units of just 26 sq metres, costing £30,000 each, created in Mitcham in London in 2015.

Richard James, chief executive of YMCA St Paul's Group, says the units provide support to single people who are unable to afford the private sector. Still, the rent is £155 a week, although James says this is less than market value, and tenants don't require a bond. Tenants tend to stay for two to five years, usually after having been living in a hostel for 12 months. "We encourage them to save a bond so when they're ready, they move into the private rented sector," says James.

The units are certainly tiny - and smaller than the 37 sq metre minimum required by new properties going through the planning system in London. "It is very easy to criticise," says James. "People are really happy with what they have got. If they went to the private rented sector, they'd be living in a shared apartment, looking at 12-15 sq metres of space each.

"These are purposely designed to make use of the space. The mayor has challenged us to look at bigger space but what we need to achieve has to fit on the back of a lorry. Land prices are ridiculous. This is a stepping-stone home, not a home for life. The most important thing for them, rather than size, is having their own front door."

Crisis, the national charity for homelessness, says it welcomes the innovation to help house some of the country's homeless, but believes more homes need to be built. "It is understandable for people to look for innovative ways to tackle the chronic shortage and it can be better value for money," says senior policy officer Sarah Rowe. However, she says there is a risk that some types of innovative accommodation could compromise space standards.

"As a nation we don't want to see a race to the bottom in the race to tackle homelessness. It's important to focus on improving the availability of temporary accommodation and that we don't lose sight of creating more permanent homes that those on lower incomes can afford. We want leadership from the government to focus on increasing genuinely affordable homes at social rent levels, and something the government could immediately do is make sure housing benefit covers the cost of the private sector, which is inaccessible."

In Bristol, there are plans to create two sets of quick-build modular developments designed to look like shipping containers, with a mix of tenants including those on low-incomes and students in one-bedroom units with shared spaces.

LaunchPad, 31 one-bed flats, including a mix of allocated YMCA tenants, will open later in the year in a car park in Fishponds, while the Zedpod consists of 11 units. Those living there will be on two-year tenancies to help get themselves established. However, while the ZedPods are 39 sq metres in size, the LaunchPads are just 22.

"We're trying to find a different solution to a difficult problem," says Jez Sweetland, project director of Bristol Housing Festival, which was launched in 2018 to engage the city with opportunities around modular housing. "Purpose-built modular can be beautifully designed with every square inch accounted for. There's a debate to be had about how not all space is equal."

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An iKozie self-contained unit being lowered into place.

In Bristol, Rob Earnshaw has a home with a sofa strewn with colourful cushions, a bedside table and a kitchen with a fridge and microwave. The difference from a standard home is that it measures just 30ft by 10ft and is a converted shipping container. While it falls short of the government's recommended minimum space standards for a one-bedroom dwelling, the 61-year-old is pleased with his home, which is certainly larger than the tent he lived in for 10 months when he lost his home after falling into arrears.

"This place is addictive," laughs Earnshaw, who moved in two years ago after Help Bristol's Homeless, a local charity which has built 16 shipping containers, offered him a base for a short period. "It's wonderful. I've got to know others on the site and I feel part of something bigger than me."

The shipping containers are the brainchild of Jasper Thompson, founder of Help Bristol's Homeless. Thompson, who lived in one himself when he worked in Afghanistan as a personal protection officer. He was inspired to set up the unique accommodation after watching Bristol's homeless situation reach crisis point.

Thompson, along with the Spring of Hope charity, has also converted a double-decker bus into temporary accommodation for up to 12 people. "It gives them somewhere to lay their head at night, feel safe, shower, have something to eat, and use the office address for jobs."

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says that "providing quality and fair social housing is a top priority". "This is why we've freed up local authorities to build more council homes," it says. "We're also providing over £1.2bn up to 2020 to reduce all forms of homelessness. Since 2010 more than 430,000 affordable homes have been delivered in England and we're investing over £9bn, plus an additional £2bn after 2022, to push on and build more."

In the meantime, many of those affected need urgent help. "Some of the concepts offer a way to manage a crisis in that moment," says Sweetland.
Topics

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Are micro-houses the solution to Britain's homelessness crisis?

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With a single bed, a chemical toilet and a phone charger in a very tight space, a "micro sleeping pod" is very much basic living. But for those that live in the tight shelters, set up by a charity, they provide a link between living on the streets and finding more long-term accommodation.

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https://www.elmovermijs.com/projecten/skaeve-huse/?lang=en

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On behalf of Trudo Housing Corporation Studio Elmo Vermijs developed Skaeve Huse on the outskirts of Eindhoven. Skaeve Huse are basic homes built at a distance from other houses for people who have difficulties living in residential areas and often cause disturbances or disputes between neighbors.

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https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/modhomes

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Mini ‘mod’ homes can help rough sleepers get off the streets for good

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A new study on the first modular mini-homes in England created for those experiencing homelessness has found that – combined with “wraparound support” – these small, inexpensive units made from factory-built components help to restore the health, relationships and finances of residents.

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https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/05/08/these-french-tiny-homes-are-giving-homeless-people-practical-skills-and-a-place-to-live-af

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Participants in the project in Brittany take part in all aspects of the construction of the mobile homes and are given the keys afterward.

"Freedom!" exclaims Pascal as he proudly shakes the keys of his brand new compact "tiny house" on wheels.

And what sweetens the moment is that he has helped build the mobile home himself.

Homeownership was perhaps not on the cards for the unemployed 52-year old, until he began working with AMISEP, a social outreach organisation that offers training to adults in Brittany, France.

"The specificity of the project developed by AMISEP is to build mobile homes with homeless people, and ensure that the future inhabitants of these mobile homes are involved in the whole construction phase," Simon Robitaille, who is heading up the project at the organisation, explained.

Moreover, Robitaille says the project can respond to a demand in the area for smaller-scale housing units.

"In the Gulf of Morbihan, we have a lot of difficulties finding small housing at contained rates for people who are on social minima, who work on temporary contracts, part-time, things like that," he said.

Project's social dimension

The project is designed to offer people in precarious positions such as asylum seekers, homeless people, or people in unemployment the opportunity to own homes and also gain practical experience in construction.

"I try to evaluate each person to see a few of their skills and where they feel most comfortable," Bastien Gohier, the technical director of the project, said.

"I try to divide the tasks according to each person's abilities," he added.

For the participants, it's not only the lucky chance to own their own mobile home drawing them in, but also the social dimension of the project.

"It's important because I don't have much to do. I come here to keep myself busy and it does me good," said Malian asylum seeker and project participant, Mahono Coulibaly.

"It makes me happy to participate in the atmosphere here. I really enjoy it".
For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.

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French 'tiny houses' project giving the homeless a lifeline and a home

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Participants in the project in Brittany take part in all aspects of the construction of the mobile homes and are given the keys afterward. "Freedom!" exclaims Pascal as he proudly shakes the keys of his brand new compact "tiny house" on wheels. And what sweetens the moment is that he has helped build the mobile home himself.

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https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2023/05/portlands-safe-rest-village-model-has-shown-success-helping-people-get-permanent-homes.html

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Nicole Hayden | The Oregonian/OregonLive

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Portland’s safe rest village model has shown success helping people get permanent homes

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As Portland forges ahead with its plan to erect mass shelter, a smaller model is already showing notable success.

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https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/slo-county-track-cut-homelessness-123000645.html

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The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a battle plan in August to reduce homelessness by half over a five-year period.

Nearly nine months later, county staff presented a progress report on the San Luis Obispo Countywide Plan to Address Homelessness to the board on Tuesday.

Is the plan on track to succeed? It depends on who you ask.

SLO County Homeless Services Division manager Joe Dzvonik told supervisors Tuesday that the county is making progress towards reaching the goals outlined in the plan, which includes building more housing - from tiny homes and palette shelters to permanent supportive housing - as well as expanding mental health, addiction and case management services, and identifying new sources of funding.

So far, 461 people have exited homeless into permanent housing since July 1, the start of the current fiscal year, while the county has prevented 499 people from entering homelessness, Dzvonik said.

A total of 1,516 people have accessed support services since July 1, he said.

However, 1,029 people have entered homelessness during that time, Dzvonik said.

"I see hope," 5Cities Homeless Coalition Executive Director Janna Nichols said at Tuesday's meeting. "We've got a lot of gaps, but you're hearing people here today coming together."

New housing projects on the way

Four new housing projects are coming down the pipeline over the next three years, Dzvonik said,

The 5Cities Homeless Coalition's Barca housing project could bring 30 interim shelter beds to the west end of Grover Beach, Dzvonik said.

The $6.5 million Barca project would be funded by 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC), SLO County and Dignity Moves, with support from California State Parks, Caltrans and the cities of Grover Beach and Pismo Beach, Dzvonik said.

These groups will submit funding applications for the state Encampment Resolution Funding Program, a $350 million competitive grant program that provides funding for housing opportunities that can help people get out of living in homeless encampments.

Additionally, the county will foot the $500,000 bill for the interim shelter beds provided by BossCubez, Dzvonik said, while the city of Grover Beach has already provided $400,000 to purchase the land for the project.

Dzvonik said the Barca housing project would function similar to the 5CHC's Cabins for Change program, which operates on a transitional housing model intended to get residents off the street, connected with services and into more permanent housing.

Transitional housing developer LifeArk plans to build an $8.5 million housing project in Paso Robles consisting of 20 interim beds, Dzvonik said.

Land at 710 Pine Street has already been donated by the city of Paso Robles, which will join the county and homeless housing provider CityNet in applying for state Encampment Resolution Funding Program funds, Dzvonik said.

Similar to the Barca project, this would be a 90-day transitional housing program in the vein of Cabins for Change, Dzvonik said.

Farther south, Dzvonik said the city of San Luis Obispo could see two housing developments.

The city, the county, Good Samaritan Shelter and Dignity Moves have filed a joint application for $13.4 million in Encampment Resolution Program funds to build the Welcome Home project.

That project would consist of 34 interim shelter beds and 46 permanent supportive housing beds provided by LifeArk, Dzvonik said.

The county has already provided land for the project on an empty lot behind the San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services on Higuera Street, Dzvonik said.

In addition, People's Self-Help Housing of San Luis Obispo County is planning a $18 million motel conversion project in San Luis Obispo using money from the third round of state Homekey funding, Dzvonik said.

The city of San Luis Obispo will apply for the funding along with People's Self-Help Housing, the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County and the county, Dzvonik said.

This funding would cover the program's development and first three years of operation, Dzvonik said, which would see the motel's rooms converted into 15 family living spaces, with 15 interim shelter beds from BossCubez installed in the motel's parking lot.

Dzvonik said the project's future will be more clear in the next 10 to 12 business days as the applicants complete the bidding and funding process.

The county's plan calls for about 1,650 new low-income housing units to be built by the end of 2027, with 500 of those units designated as permanent supportive housing, Dzvonik said.

As of now, the county is a few hundred units short of those goals. A total of 409 new low income housing units are slated to be available by the end of 2024, with a total of 905 new units planned for the end of 2026.

"It's still clear that more coordination is needed between developers, service providers, the county and city staff moving forward and become better aligned with the numbers in this plan," Dzvonik said.

SLO County to improve homeless outreach, data management

The county's current data management system is flawed, Dzvonik said, because there isn't one simple way to track one person's case to determine when they enter homelessness, when they access services, and if they eventually find housing.

"Service providers often have to enter extensive data sets multiple times to have the ability to share information," Dzvonik said. "Right now, we do not have a way to measure which programs are effective or guide us in the reallocation of resources towards success."

The SLO County Homeless Services Division is searching for a new data management system into which local homeless service providers could enter data.

That way, each agency can see when an individual speaks to a service provider, accesses services such as an overnight shelter and allows the service providers to collaborate to find that individual housing.

In March, the Homeless Services Division opened the application process for new data management systems, and will select a new one in August, he said.

When the county has better data to understand how folks become homeless, what services they've accessed and where they're falling through the cracks, county staff can do more targeted street outreach, Dzvonik said.

During county budget talks for the next fiscal year, the Homeless Services Division will ask for another $1.8 million to support street outreach and homelessness prevention, Dzvonik said.

"Street outreach is the most critical component of the countywide plan, because unhoused people, or those at risk of becoming homeless cannot be identified, assisted or tracked through the continuum if no one is contacting them directly on a weekly if not daily basis," Dzvonik said.

Supervisor Jimmy Paulding agreed.

"Outreach is a critical link between the safety net that we described with all those services and getting people out of homelessness," Paulding said Tuesday.

Oklahoma Avenue safe parking site closure still planned

The county's five-year plan originally called for an expansion of its safe parking site at Oklahoma Avenue, located just north of San Luis Obispo on Highway 1.

In late February, however, the county announced the site would begin drawing down its operations to eventually close over the coming year, though no official deadline was set.

This means that the county will close the site to new residents, while continuing to provide services to current residents until they are placed in new housing.

Dzvonik emphasized on Tuesday that no current residents will be forced to leave the site before they find new housing.

The Oklahoma Avenue safe parking site was initially intended as a 180-day pilot program. Although several residents have been staying at the site since it opened in August 2021, the county still views the site as a transitional opportunity to find housing for residents.

More than half of the roughly 60 households currently living on the site have been there longer than 12 months, Dzvonik said.

"Although there are cases of success where participants achieve enough stability and direction to move on to a better situation in their lives, this has not occurred in the number and timelines originally envisioned," Dzvonik said.

Multiple service providers met onsite for the first time Friday as part of this surge in services, which will include efforts from CAPSLO , 5CHC, El Camino Homeless Organization, Transitions-Mental Health Association, LAGS Recovery Centers and the San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services' Adult Protective Services program.

San Luis Obispo County Public Works Director John Diodati explained that it would be expensive to transform the Oklahoma site into permanent housing because the land was originally a landfill.

State law would require the county to remediate the former landfill, which would cost at least $3.1 million, Diodati said at Tuesday's meeting.

On Tuesday the supervisors suggested that the county pursue other sites for parking programs that aren't as cost-prohibitive.

County staff will also look into opening smaller, overnight-only parking programs similar to the programs operated by the city of San Luis Obispo and CAPSLO for people who want to keep living in vehicles and campers, which Dzvonik said have a "relatively greater level of success" with moving clients into housing than the Oklahoma Avenue safe parking site.

Site resident Dave Richford said at the Tuesday meeting that folks at the Oklahoma Avenue site may prefer to continue living in their vehicles.

Richford asked that the county look into creating campground-style lots for unhoused people and their vehicles to replace the transitional Oklahoma Avenue site.

"I just want to stress that if we end up going back to the streets, which we hope to God we don't have to, we're going to be dealing with the police department, which is most of our problem," Richford said. "The community, we don't want to invade their privacy, their concerns - we want to be able to get somewhere where we can have affordable housing."

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Is SLO County on track to cut homelessness by half in 5 years? 'I see hope'

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The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a battle plan in August to reduce homelessness by half over a five-year period. Nearly nine months later, county staff presented a progress report on the San Luis Obispo Countywide Plan to Address Homelessness to the board on Tuesday.

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https://youtu.be/lJIz6TOsO7A

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Tiny home construction underway at Hawaii Department of Health

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https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/plan-build-permanent-tiny-house-village-pierce-county-takes-another-step-forward/RKXEQYTCBJHVXO4A75UXZ7MD6Y/

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SPANAWAY, Wash. - A new tiny house village is coming to Pierce County, that is unlike anything that already exists in Washington state. Leaders behind the project are hoping it will be a giant step towards helping to solve the homeless crisis.

The plan has been controversial, drawing fiery public comment and launching meetings that have lasted hours, including a six-plus hour meeting on March 21.

Now the plan is taking another step forward. The Tacoma Rescue Mission is about to close on 82 acres of land in Spanaway that would ultimately be a permanent home for about 300 people.

The parcel of land near Cross-Base Highway South & Spanaway Loop Road South will be called the Pierce County Village, serving about 30% of the county's chronically homeless.

"That's a big dent. Yes it's ambitious. When we started out it was, 'Do we even think we can do this?' And now it's, 'Yeah, we can,'" said Duke Paulson, executive director of the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Paulson said he traveled across the country to look for solutions, including Chicago, East Saint Louis, and L.A.'s Skid Row. He found answers in Austin, Texas, where a similar village has been operational for more than a decade.

"I was blown away in Austin," Paulson said. "It wasn't just a program or a place to live. It was a truly a community of people," he said.

Steve O'Ban is senior counsel for the Pierce County Executive's office.

"I had my doubts initially, and that's why I wanted to go down there," O'Ban said. "Once I did that, I knew we needed one in Pierce County."

The difference between this tiny house village and existing ones is that residents will be expected to work a job and pay rent - about $500 a month. The homes are permanent, with running water and power, and will have a bathroom. They will run from about 200 to 400 square feet, and the larger ones will also have a kitchenette.

"Just that little bit of money gives them a sense of ownership and responsibility," O'Ban said. "Requiring them to pay rent, learn what it's like to give to their community, and obey the law. Those are key elements to us."

The village will also have a big community element, with a farm and gathering spaces. Most people will work at jobs on-site, gardening and maintaining facilities.

At the end of March, the Pierce County Council approved $22 million dollars for the project. The funding will go towards the $3.7 million for the land sale, to building roads, get water and sewer in, and start building infrastructure. It will be up to the Tacoma Rescue Mission to come up with the rest of the funding, which could cost about $60 million.

Some people in Spanaway are worried the new campus will be just over a mile away from Spanaway Elementary School.

"I don't think in this area it's the right place to be. That concerns me, the exposure of what the younger children will have," said a woman who works for the school district and didn't want to be named.

O'Ban says he gets it, but also points to the concept's success in Austin, including with neighbors.

"If I was living next to it I'd be concerned, too," O'Ban said. "Once they see it in operation, the fear evaporates."

Tacoma Rescue Mission says illegal drugs will not be allowed on site and only people with a last known address in Pierce County will qualify.

"We're targeting the hardest to serve, the most in need," Paulson said. "We're really excited to get it done."

There was a legal challenge to the project brought up on Thursday afternoon concerning development regulations. O'Ban said the challenge does not apply to the project and he is not concerned.

Tacoma Rescue Mission will run the village and hopes to have people starting to move in by 2025.

©2023 Cox Media Group

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Plan to build permanent tiny house village in Pierce County takes another step forward

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SPANAWAY, Wash. - A new tiny house village is coming to Pierce County, that is unlike anything that already exists in Washington state. Leaders behind the project are hoping it will be a giant step towards helping to solve the homeless crisis.

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https://oanow.com/news/local/opelika-group-to-build-tiny-houses-to-shelter-homeless-people/article_92d2a846-eaa4-11ed-91c5-cf989efca178.html

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A charity organization in Opelika plans to build tiny homes to support Lee County's homeless community. And they need your help.

The One Voice Coalition will partner with Tiny House Ministries based out of Pensacola, Florida, to build miniature houses. The homeless advocate organization intends to reach out to local nonprofits, churches and organizations to help with the builds.

Jean Causey, the organization's president, said these transitional homes will then be set up in R.V. parks around Lee County.

On Monday morning, One Voice held a public presentation to unveil its upcoming plans to use the tiny houses as shelters for homeless people. Causey said the project is a wonderful idea and her organization already has a list of people lined up to fill the tiny houses. Causey said she hopes to move forward with the project in the next few months.

"We've been meeting and trying to come up with a solution for people that do need shelter," Causey said on Monday. "This -we feel like - is the solution. We feel like this is God leading us into this ministry with Curtis White and the Tiny House Ministries."

Curtis White and his wife, Hany, started the non-profit Tiny House Ministries in 2017, just outside of Macon, Missouri. The couple felt called to start a ministry to help homeless people.

They built there first tiny home for a homeless woman named Alison in 2019. White said they moved her into the home in early 2020. The Whites have since built 10 tiny houses, mostly in the Midwest. They moved their ministry to Pensacola a year ago.

"This is real life and making relationships, and this, I think, is the best way to heal," White said regarding his ministry. "I'm a believer as well. I think the houses are great, but it's really about a relationship with the Lord, and we would like for people to open their hearts to that opportunity. We use the ministry and the houses as that open door to the gospel."

Causey said her son, Steve, originally reached out to Tiny House Ministries. Despite One Voice's current shelters in Opelika and Beulah, she said they don't have enough room for Lee County's homeless community. They have to put many people up in hotels instead.

"We don't have places to transition people into once we find out their homeless," Causey said. "We have two shelters, but that is not enough to take care of the people that are really homeless."

By partnering with Tiny House Ministries, Causey hopes to provide an alternative for Lee County's homeless who live out of hotels, cars or on the streets.

The Whites drove up from Pensacola with a model tiny house to show at the presentation on Monday. The model home they showed One Voice is around 168 sq feet. It features a small living area and kitchenette, a loft large enough for a full-size mattress, bathroom and shower. The plumbing can be hooked up to a septic tank or a city sewer.

"Think college dorm room, where you've got your needs," Curtis White said. "You may live there for four years, but you're probably not going to retire there. That's kinda the idea. It's a transitional home."

According to White, one of the tiny homes can cost around $15,000 for materials. A trailer for it to sit on would cost extra. Curtis said he offers custom services and can design a house to meet an organization's needs. He said he can lead group builds, provide material lists and blueprints.

Causey said One Voice Coalition is excited about the prospect of working with Tiny House Ministries.

Nolan Torbert, lead pastor of True Deliverance Holiness Church in Auburn, is one of the founding members of One Voice Coalition. He said Tiny House Ministry is very special to him. He comes from a family of 10 that was homeless for six years when he was a kid.

"I know what it is when you don't have anywhere to go," he said. "This will get people out of the streets and out of their cars. I think it's really going to meet the needs of a lot of people."

Torbert said One Voice Coalition plans to get churches, organizations and nonprofits involved in the tiny house builds once they begin. He and Causey both said they want to build as many of the tiny houses as possible.

"We're being the hands and feet of Jesus," Torbert said. "Let's get together on one accord."

Causey added, "We don't know how many we're going to build yet. We're not going to stop with the first one though."

For more on One Voice Coalition, visit www.onevoiceshelter.org. For more on Tiny House Ministries, visit https://www.tinyhouseministries.org

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Opelika group to build tiny houses to shelter homeless people

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A charity organization in Opelika plans to build tiny homes to support Lee County's homeless community. And they need your help. The One Voice Coalition will partner with Tiny House Ministries based out of Pensacola, Florida, to build miniature houses. The homeless advocate organization intends to reach out to local nonprofits, churches and organizations to help with the builds.

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https://oanow.com/news/local/opelika-group-to-build-tiny-houses-to-shelter-homeless-people/article_92d2a846-eaa4-11ed-91c5-cf989efca178.html

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A charity organization in Opelika plans to build tiny homes to support Lee County's homeless community. And they need your help.

The One Voice Coalition will partner with Tiny House Ministries based out of Pensacola, Florida, to build miniature houses. The homeless advocate organization intends to reach out to local nonprofits, churches and organizations to help with the builds.

Jean Causey, the organization's president, said these transitional homes will then be set up in R.V. parks around Lee County.

On Monday morning, One Voice held a public presentation to unveil its upcoming plans to use the tiny houses as shelters for homeless people. Causey said the project is a wonderful idea and her organization already has a list of people lined up to fill the tiny houses. Causey said she hopes to move forward with the project in the next few months.

"We've been meeting and trying to come up with a solution for people that do need shelter," Causey said on Monday. "This -we feel like - is the solution. We feel like this is God leading us into this ministry with Curtis White and the Tiny House Ministries."

Curtis White and his wife, Hany, started the non-profit Tiny House Ministries in 2017, just outside of Macon, Missouri. The couple felt called to start a ministry to help homeless people.

They built there first tiny home for a homeless woman named Alison in 2019. White said they moved her into the home in early 2020. The Whites have since built 10 tiny houses, mostly in the Midwest. They moved their ministry to Pensacola a year ago.

"This is real life and making relationships, and this, I think, is the best way to heal," White said regarding his ministry. "I'm a believer as well. I think the houses are great, but it's really about a relationship with the Lord, and we would like for people to open their hearts to that opportunity. We use the ministry and the houses as that open door to the gospel."

Causey said her son, Steve, originally reached out to Tiny House Ministries. Despite One Voice's current shelters in Opelika and Beulah, she said they don't have enough room for Lee County's homeless community. They have to put many people up in hotels instead.

"We don't have places to transition people into once we find out their homeless," Causey said. "We have two shelters, but that is not enough to take care of the people that are really homeless."

By partnering with Tiny House Ministries, Causey hopes to provide an alternative for Lee County's homeless who live out of hotels, cars or on the streets.

The Whites drove up from Pensacola with a model tiny house to show at the presentation on Monday. The model home they showed One Voice is around 168 sq feet. It features a small living area and kitchenette, a loft large enough for a full-size mattress, bathroom and shower. The plumbing can be hooked up to a septic tank or a city sewer.

"Think college dorm room, where you've got your needs," Curtis White said. "You may live there for four years, but you're probably not going to retire there. That's kinda the idea. It's a transitional home."

According to White, one of the tiny homes can cost around $15,000 for materials. A trailer for it to sit on would cost extra. Curtis said he offers custom services and can design a house to meet an organization's needs. He said he can lead group builds, provide material lists and blueprints.

Causey said One Voice Coalition is excited about the prospect of working with Tiny House Ministries.

Nolan Torbert, lead pastor of True Deliverance Holiness Church in Auburn, is one of the founding members of One Voice Coalition. He said Tiny House Ministry is very special to him. He comes from a family of 10 that was homeless for six years when he was a kid.

"I know what it is when you don't have anywhere to go," he said. "This will get people out of the streets and out of their cars. I think it's really going to meet the needs of a lot of people."

Torbert said One Voice Coalition plans to get churches, organizations and nonprofits involved in the tiny house builds once they begin. He and Causey both said they want to build as many of the tiny houses as possible.

"We're being the hands and feet of Jesus," Torbert said. "Let's get together on one accord."

Causey added, "We don't know how many we're going to build yet. We're not going to stop with the first one though."

For more on One Voice Coalition, visit www.onevoiceshelter.org. For more on Tiny House Ministries, visit https://www.tinyhouseministries.org

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Opelika group to build tiny houses to shelter homeless people

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A charity organization in Opelika plans to build tiny homes to support Lee County's homeless community. And they need your help. The One Voice Coalition will partner with Tiny House Ministries based out of Pensacola, Florida, to build miniature houses. The homeless advocate organization intends to reach out to local nonprofits, churches and organizations to help with the builds.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/a-woman-had-to-move-out-of-her-tiny-home-after-1-day-because-the-city-threatened-to-fine-her-1-000-a-day/ar-AA14Tehw

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A woman is suing the city of Meridian, Idaho, over its ban on living in mobile homes.

Chasidy Decker bought her tiny home because she couldn't afford a traditional house.

City officials told her she can't live in it legally despite paying rent to park it in a yard.

A woman who bought a tiny home is taking legal action against her city, which threatened to fine her $1,000 a day if she continued living in it because the action left her unhoused.

Chasidy Decker of Meridian, Idaho, couldn't afford to buy a house, so she opted for the 252-square-foot tiny home and arranged to put it on Robert Calacal's property for $600 a month, according to the lawsuit.

A neighbor called the Meridian Police Department when the tiny home arrived on the property and asked whether living in it would be legal.

In May last year, a day after Decker moved in, a Meridian city-code-enforcement officer threatened both Decker and Calacal with criminal prosecution and fines of $1,000 a day unless she moved out, the Institute for Justice wrote in a blog post.

The institute, which files constitutional cases in state and federal courts, said in the blog post that Meridian's city code permitted trailers and recreational vehicles to park in residential neighborhoods but did not permit living in them.

Decker and Calacal filed a lawsuit to challenge the city's ban, bringing five claims as to why the restriction on tiny homes breached the Idaho constitution.

The judge presiding over the case at the time allowed four of the five claims to proceed, but blocked Decker from being allowed to live in her home during the legal proceedings.

Decker said she was "disappointed because I really wish I was living in my home again. But I have high hopes that in the end, something good will happen. And I appreciate that the judge is so engaged with the case, because this is something that affects a lot of people in the housing crisis," according to another Institute for Justice blog post.

Robert Belden, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, told Insider in December: "Everyone needs a place to live, but the city would rather have Chasidy be homeless than living in a tiny home on wheels parked on private property. That's not just wrong, it's unconstitutional. Making Chasidy homeless does nothing to improve public health, safety, or welfare in Meridian, and it certainly doesn't improve Chasidy's."

"At a time when so few affordable housing options are available, why is the city's zoning ordinance further reducing such options?" Belden said.

Belden said in an update about the case in January: "The city has talked a lot about improving housing affordability and accessibility but it won't get out of the way and let Chasidy live in the home she already owns, just because her home is on wheels."

A hearing will be taking place on May 24 this year on various motions the Institute for Justice filed. A trial date has been set for January 29, 2024.

The City of Meridian declined to comment.

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A woman had to move out of her tiny home after 1 day because the city threatened to fine her $1,000 a day

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A woman is suing the city of Meridian, Idaho, over its ban on living in mobile homes. Chasidy Decker bought her tiny home because she couldn't afford a traditional house. City officials told her she can't live in it legally despite paying rent to park it in a yard.

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https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-tiny-home-cottage-sand-point-homeless-crisis-community-magnuson-park-northeast-affordable-housing-transition-disabilities-children-seniors-families-development-manufactured-house-village-green-lihi-washington-king-county

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New cottage village for people transitioning from homelessness coming to Sand Point

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Twenty-two families will soon be able to live in a new development of manufactured housing that is similar to a tiny home but larger.

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https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/2023-05-03/1a-remaking-america-state-sanctioned-homeless-encampments

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Close to600, 000people in the U.S. don't have a home of their own, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.Ofthose in America experiencing homelessness,40 percentof themare living outdoors or in buildings not meant for human habitation.

Often, this takes the form of homeless encampments. Equally often, cities cities spend time and money forcing people out of them. Peopleliving on the streets are 10 times more likely to be stopped by the police, and nine times more likely to spend a night in jail than people living in shelters, according to a 20 19 study by the California Policy Lab.

Some cities and states have explicitly made public camping illegal. Voters in Austin, Texas, approved a camping ban in 2021.

One option cities are looking to aresanctionedencampments. These are places where unhoused folks can pitch a tent and live without the threat of law enforcement telling them to leave. They can have varying degrees of services, from basic sanitation like porta-potties, to on-site case management. Portland, Oregon, plans to open six city-run encampments that could house 1,500 people. That's in an effort to eventually ban camping by 2024.

Housing advocates say the best approach is "housing-first," but that has its critics.There is a shortage of 7 million affordable homes for millions of America's poorest families, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

We feature Austin's only state-sanctioned homeless encampment that opened in 2019. Since then, the place had become a community of people with their own tiny homes.

We discuss camping bans, homeless navigation centers, and housing-first approaches.

This show was part of 1A's Remaking America collaboration with six partner stations, including KUT in Austin, Texas. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Copyright 2023 WAMU 88.5

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1A Remaking America: State-sanctioned homeless encampments

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Close to600, 000people in the U.S. don't have a home of their own, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.Ofthose in America experiencing homelessness,40 percentof themare living outdoors or in buildings not meant for human habitation. Often, this takes the form of homeless encampments.

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https://springmag.ca/someone-lives-here-interview-with-khaleel-seivwright-and-taka-of-new-tiny-shelter-documentary

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Spring - a magazine of socialist ideas in action

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Spring: Taka, the documentary is framed by your narration although we never see you on screen. I appreciate what you said about having nothing left to keep for yourself aside from your image, and I'm glad the director respected your boundaries - I think the film was stronger for it. Did you have any hesitations about giving Zack authority to shape your story?

Taka: Trust was established first. I had many other offers that I firmly rejected. Zack came into my life as a helper first. Before any movie was mentioned, he helped me to move into a tiny shelter. Once I was established in a tiny shelter, that's when Zack suggested his movie. At that time, I felt so overwhelmed and grateful to all the guys that helped me in the park. Those guys were so helpful and supportive and respectful, that I felt obliged to do my part in the story that we all shared. And that was to give voice to the voiceless. Speak from inside the box. That was my part to pay back Khaleel for his help. I thought it was right and fair because the story did not belong just to me any longer. Many wonderful people got involved and proved their integrity over the years. Some of the relationships became permanent friendships. I never felt judged by Zack at all. Maybe that's why I felt so comfortable being honest.

Spring: How did you first learn of Khaleel? What was the process of getting your tiny shelter?

Taka: I met Zack and Ginger in Alexandra Park. They offered their help. I asked for a tent. Zack suggested Khaleel's tiny shelter. That really blew my mind - seeing that house made me stop thinking about suicide because there was hope of surviving the winter. It took only nine days for the tiny shelter to arrive. For this period, I was staying in a tent, and it was very cold and windy. Sometimes you were lying inside and hoping for the tent would not fly away with you in it - that's how strong the gusts were. And what a huge difference it was inside the tiny shelter, once it arrived. It took the problem of wind away. I was capable of warming the place with my body temperature. And that was the first peaceful night I had in years.

Spring: Khaleel, you mentioned that other cities have tiny shelters or allow camping in parks. Can you share some examples of what that might look like? What makes Toronto different?

Khaleel: Tiny homes and tiny shelter projects are popping up all over North America. Even during the time I was building tiny shelters, A Better Tent City, a tiny home community for unhoused people, in Kitchener was forming and thriving. There were also pods and tiny shelters, more resembling what I was doing for people, in Germany - they're still being built. I think Toronto is a very wealthy city when compared to the rest of the world, that encourages policy and regulations that incentivizes and prioritizes housing as an investment tool instead of a human right. We have rents increasing from 2012 to 2017 by 50 per cent and wages nowhere near match that. Forty-six per cent of people living in Toronto are currently renting and this is a growing trend. I think the sad fact is that Toronto isn't very different from many major cities around the world where they are becoming too expensive to live in for the people that grew up there. The extraction of wealth from the poorest group of people to the wealthiest is accelerating and increased homelessness is a consequence of that.

Spring: The film brought up really interesting questions about what public space is for and who "the public" even is. Taka, could you speak to that and expand on the idea of being "a refugee in your own city" that came up in the film?

Taka: Homeowners come first. Then come their extensions - their kids and their dogs. Some homeowners probably think that because they are paying for the privilege, they are entitled to extend their space into the public space. How much of that space they need is questionable. In the hierarchy of inhabitants, the unhoused are definitely below dogs. But I befriended some homeowners with very different worldviews. They came as humanitarian help. Humble and helpful. And we developed a strong friendship.

Spring: Khaleel, What are you working on now?

Khaleel: Currently, I am building and selling camper trailers as Fat Drop Trailers to create a sustainable source of income for tiny home communities just like A Better Tent City (ABTC) in Kitchener. With that, I am advocating for this tiny home model with architect John Van Nostrand and former [Chief Administrative Officer] and current founder of ABTC, Jeff Wilmer, in this year's Venice Biennale of Architecture. The model we are proposing and advocating for is one with many tiny homes and a central building for washrooms, laundry, and showers, as well as a community building for meetings and events that has a large shared kitchen. The intention is to create a situation for folks staying outside where the focus of the operation of the community is based on feedback from the residents, where they have autonomy and the opportunity for responsibilities in building and maintaining the community they're a part of. This approach is based on interviews done with many people living outside and drawing from the wisdom and experiences being gathered from ABTC.

Spring: Taka, what does your life look like now? What are your hopes for the future?

Taka: Due to Zack's help, I found safe, permanent housing. I would not be able to do it without the help of Zack, who took upon himself all the mundane details of dealing with bureaucracy which I was not capable of doing any longer. Being homeless for a few years left deep emotional and mental scars. Right now I'm dealing with them. So my hope for the future is mental health. I don't want to be a refugee in my own town; I believe I belong here in a different capacity, and I hope to find what it is.

Spring: Toronto will have the opportunity to elect a new mayor for the first time since 2014 on June 26. What changes do you hope the by-election will bring?

Khaleel: To be perfectly honest, I don't have many hopes for the next election, only that we don't get a mayor that sees every social problem as something requiring police to solve it. I am hopeful that there is a public that is becoming more interested in participating in our government and holding them accountable for making decisions in the best interest of people living here. I am hopeful that citizens will become aware of our government's responsibility not to price out Torontonians from their homes and not to punish people for being homeless.

Someone Lives Here premiered on April 29, with a repeat screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on May 4, and can be streamed online from May 5-9, 2023. Tickets are on sale at hotdocs.ca.

Did you like this article? Help us produce more like it by donating $1, $2, or $5. Donate

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Someone Lives Here: Interview with Khaleel Seivwright and Taka of new tiny shelter documentary

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Long before garnering international attention as a "pandemic-era folk hero," carpenter Khaleel Seivwright built a tiny insulated shelter in a Toronto park with a painted sign boldly stating "Anyone is Welcome." It would be the first of many.

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https://globalnews.ca/news/9673409/peterborough-modular-units-wolfe-street-homeless/

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Modular units proposed on Wolfe Street to assist Peterborough homeless in short term - Peterborough | Globalnews.ca

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According to the city, as of mid-April there were 302 individuals on the city’s by-name priority list, a real-time list of all people experiencing homelessness in the city.

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https://globalnews.ca/news/8181403/kingston-tiny-home-gofundme-homeless-man/

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A Kingston man who has been struggling to find housing is getting a helping hand after a chance encounter.

When David McDonald's scooter got a flat tire in front of Kim Cormier's home, she befriended him. Now, she is raising money to buy him a tiny home of his own.

"It's going to be placed right here on my property, right beside my shed," Cormier said.

McDonald has been in Kingston on and off since he was 19 - the majority of that time, he says he's been homeless.

"It's hard to sleep when you're homeless, because the city keeps chasing you around," he said.

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His stroke of bad luck with a flat tire in front of Cormier's house led her to eventually invite him to camp on her back deck, where he's been living ever since.

"David uses our plumbing, he cooks with me in the kitchen. He showers in our facility in our one-bedroom home, so I'm just trying to help a man get off the street," Cormier said.

Still, the pair of friends are hoping to find a more weather-resistant housing solution over the winter. They're working to raise $18,000 to be able to afford McDonald's new home. So far, they've raised a little over $1,800.

Bob Roach, the field tech for EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies (EHT Hybrid,) a Niagara Falls-based company that will be building McDonald's tiny home, said that the housing crisis in Kingston is what made him reach out to housing advocates in the area to help out.

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"There's about 400 people on the streets here in Kingston and they have an immediate need for 80 homes, and if we can get on it with the city, we can get at it right away," Roach said.

Will Towell is another unhoused person, and he says that accessible housing is even harder to get.

"I'm 63, in lousy health, and in a wheelchair. It sucks when you got nowhere to go other than a tent," said Towell. He says that a tiny home would be a great solution for his needs too.

EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies will also be building homes for the Our Livable Solutions initiative, which is hoping to build a community of tiny homes in Kingston based on a similar initiative in Kitchener called A Better Tent City.

Still, right now, McDonald feels grateful for Cormier's help, and all those who have already donated to the GoFundMe campaign.

He says the tiny home solution seems like a viable option to help people like him, who have been given up on by many others.

"People like to turn a blind eye to the homeless situation. They just assume that it's me. 'What'd you do? You know you did something,'" he said.

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As for Cormier, as a mortgage broker, she said the instinct to find McDonald a home came naturally to her.

"This is just an extension to that," she said.

The GoFundMe campaign is available online.

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Kingston woman raises funds to buy a tiny home for a homeless man | Globalnews.ca

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A Kingston man who has been struggling to find housing is getting a helping hand after a chance encounter. When David McDonald's scooter got a flat tire in front of Kim Cormier's home, she befriended him. Now, she is raising money to buy him a tiny home of his own.

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https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video?cid=sm%3Atrueanthem%3Actvkitchener%3Apost&clipId=2671744&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook

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A look inside the region's hybrid shelter

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The Region's hybrid shelter is expected to open within weeks. Jeff Pickel has a tour of the new space.

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https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/pre-fab-mini-shelters-with-two-beds-heat-eyed-for-london-agency

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Pre-fab mini-shelters with two beds, heat eyed for London agency

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A new kind of homeless shelter, two-bed, pre-fab structures with heat and electricity that can be built in an hour, could soon pop up in London.

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https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/media-newsroom/news-releases/2023/canada-backs-supportive-tiny-home-project-winnipeg

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Canada backs supportive tiny home project in Winnipeg

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Federal funding to support Astum Api Niikinaahk in Winnipeg.

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https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/volunteers-look-to-build-tiny-home-community-in-woodstock-1.5365264

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WOODSTOCK -- After watching the impact of A Better Tent City in Kitchener, a group of volunteers in Woodstock are hoping to create a similar community to help bridge the housing gap for those experiencing homelessness.

Phase one of the project kicked off on Saturday, as volunteers got to work constructing the first 100 sq. ft. tiny home.

"This is a safe place for these people that are experiencing homelessness to call their own. It's heated, t's insulated," said Steve Zehr, president of Woodstock-Oxford Rotary.

The Woodstock-Oxford Rotary has partnered with a number of community groups, including the Community Free Table, to bring this project to life.

The table located in downtown Woodstock offers free snacks, drinks, basic hygiene supplies to those in need.

"When I first started the Community Free Table in 2018 I was feeding about 18 people. Within a year we were up to 45 and now we are up to 60," said Chris Eby, founder of the Community Free Table.

Eby says he has seen an increase in people who use the table during the pandemic, which has demonstrated the need for housing solutions in the community.

"I'd like to be able to say that we have no homelessness, but obviously that's a dream far, far away," he said.

The lumber for the group's first home was donated by the Woodstock Home Hardware, but in order to meet their goal to build an additional ten units, the group says they'll need support from the community.

With each home is expected to cost a few thousand dollars, and in order to help fund the newly constructed unit, the already constructed will be used as an example in the Home Hardware parking lot.

"So that way they have the ability to go out into the community and say this is what it is we are going to be building and this is where it will end up and this is how it's going to function," said owner of the Woodstock Home Hardware Adam Moulton.

With the goal of creating a community outside of the downtown core and near a bus route, the volunteers are taking inspiration and guidance from Kitchener's A Better Tent City.

"They've been very instrumental in helping us to coordinate a blueprint and a kind of plan we want to follow and I think its incredible what they're doing," said Zehr.

An exact location has yet to be announced for the site and the project also still needs approval from council before going forward.

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Volunteers look to build tiny home community in Woodstock

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WOODSTOCK -- After watching the impact of A Better Tent City in Kitchener, a group of volunteers in Woodstock are hoping to create a similar community to help bridge the housing gap for those experiencing homelessness. Phase one of the project kicked off on Saturday, as volunteers got to work constructing the first 100 sq.

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Atlantic Canada >News

Pam Glode-Desrochers, left, executive director of the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax, visits the housing construction site in Lennox Island (off the northwest coast of Prince Edward Island) with Chief Darlene Bernard of the Lennox Island First Nation. - Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre

Right now, three tiny homes are being built by Mi'kmaw hands in P.E.I. for homeless Mi'kmaw people in Halifax.

On Tuesday, Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) announced a housing project in partnership with the Lennox Island First Nation on the island off the northwest coast of P.E.I. The Lennox Island Tiny Home Project is building three tiny homes for chronically homeless Indigenous people in Halifax.

"I believe the solutions for our own community can come from our own community, and it shows that we are still connected regardless if you're on a reserve that's remote, or within community in the urban context, we're still connected," said Pam Glode-Desrochers, executive director of the MNFC.

"It's about us helping ourselves."

Three of these homes produced by the Lennox island Tiny Home Project will be delivered to the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax where they will support the increasing rate of Indigenous homeless people in HRM. - Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre

This is just the start

In December, the MNFC closed their emergency shelter on North Park Street because they said it was failing the Indigenous homeless people in Halifax. Glode-Desrochers said they wanted to create a longer-term tiny home community and were happy to find an Indigenous partner with Lennox Island.

"I had heard that they had built their own tiny homes for their own community so I thought, well, they have some experience," she said, adding having to transport the homes to Halifax was considered.

"For me, it was if they can build them, then we can figure the rest out."

In a news release, Darlene Bernard, chief of Lennox Island First Nation, said the partnership builds capacity for the Tiny Homes Project while helping unhoused Indigenous people in Halifax.

"We hope that by sharing our knowledge and experience, it will encourage other communities to move forward in addressing the housing crisis that exists in most First Nations," Bernard said.

"With the housing issues and the challenges we're facing right now in HRM, three is better than nothing at this point. Every little bit will help."

- Pam Glode-Desrochers, executive director of the MNFC

Glode-Desrochers visited the construction site on Lennox Island on Monday and she said the three, single-occupancy homes for Halifax should be finished in two months. But they don't have a location to put them yet.

"We do have a meeting this week that hopefully we'll be able to let everybody know exactly where they're going to be," she said. "And then we'll be looking for a longer-term solution so we can build a small community for those that are homeless, that require some additional support."

They received a $150,000 grant from the National Association of Friendship Centers to pay for the construction of the three tiny homes with some left over to furnish them.

Glode-Desrocher said she can dream big and imagines this will just be the start of a much bigger community, where Halifax's homeless Indigenous people can find longer-term housing, a place they can call their own.

"I would love to have a small space you could have 10-20 units with one being a community space ... where everybody has their own home to go to at night, but with a larger kitchen, a gathering space, that kind of thing," she said.

But that will require a lot more funding, something Glode-Desrocher is exploring.

Likely for senior Indigenous men

It's not set in stone yet, but Glode-Desrocher said they are hoping to offer the first three units to three senior men who have been homeless for a long time. In fact, their goal with this project is to target the senior population who have suffered from chronic housing insecurity and homelessness.

Providing a self-contained place to live is a much better solution than a shelter, she explained.

"The shelter is not an option for these individuals - they would not stay in a shelter to begin with. The reality is they want to be alone, they want to be looked after," she said.

Inside the tiny homes

Each of the tiny homes comes complete with a bathroom with a shower, kitchenette with a table for two, a space for a pull-out couch and a small living space.

"They're going to be sweet little places," said Glode-Desrocher.

Pam Glode-Desrochers, left, executive director of the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax, visits the housing construction site in Lennox Island with Chief Darlene Bernard of the Lennox Island First Nation. - Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre

She said staff from the MNFC will provide support for the people who will live there in the hopes that they will become part of the community in a much larger way.

"I'm hoping these individuals will actually eventually work into (being) good mentors for people moving in as we look to expand this project."

Until her dream of a larger community is realized, three houses for three people is a good start, Glode-Desrocher said, and it's a way of looking at emergency housing a little differently.

"With the housing issues and the challenges we're facing right now in HRM, three is better than nothing at this point," Glode-Desrochers said.

"Every little bit will help."

A snapshot of Indigenous homeless people in Halifax

The Halifax Navigator Street Outreach Program, which regularly assesses "point in time" counts of homeless people, indicates that 22 per cent of the homeless population in Halifax are Indigenous. The MNFC said Indigenous people make up about four per cent of the total population in HRM.

According to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia's by-name list, as of May 31, there are 616 people in Halifax who are experiencing homelessness, with 130 who identify as actively homeless Indigenous. Another 67 are identified as actively chronic homeless Indigenous people.

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'It's about us helping ourselves': Mi'kmaw builders in P.E.I. construct tiny homes for Indigenous homeless in Halifax | SaltWire

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Atlantic Canada >News Right now, three tiny homes are being built by Mi'kmaw hands in P.E.I. for homeless Mi'kmaw people in Halifax. On Tuesday, Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre (MNFC) announced a housing project in partnership with the Lennox Island First Nation on the island off the northwest coast of P.E.I.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX40fQHI1J4

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Largest prefab tiny home village in the U.S.

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https://www.thoroldtoday.ca/local-news/province-pouring-2m-into-project-to-build-tiny-houses-for-homeless-veterans-4747753?utm_source=Email_Share&utm_medium=Email_Share&utm_campaign=Email_Share

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Province pouring $2M into project to build tiny houses for homeless veterans

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Ontario says an-acre-and-a-half of land will be transformed into a ‘Veterans Village’ in Kingston, complete with as many as 25 tiny, prefabricated homes

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https://fox2now.com/am-show/some-homeless-st-louis-vets-are-about-to-get-tiny-homes/

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - State health officials have recorded less than 2,000 new COVID for each of the last five days.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the state has recorded 657,388 cumulative cases of SARS-CoV-2-an increase of 1,987 positive cases (PCR testing only)-and 11,028 total deaths as of Thursday, Sept. 16, an increase of 7 over yesterday. That's a case fatality rate of 1.68%.

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Some homeless St. Louis vets are about to get tiny homes

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Some homeless St. Louis veterans are about to discover good things come in small packages. There is a new tiny house community just for them. Adam McBride is the executive director of the Veteran's Community Project. He talks about the new development. Learn more: veteranscommunityproject.org

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https://www.ktvu.com/news/34-new-tiny-homes-for-unsheltered-in-east-bay

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Alameda County has formally opened a new "Tiny Home Village" with 34 units near San Leandro in an effort to end homelessness, officials announced on Thursday.

The village is located at the Fairmont Navigation Center. And the program is being managed by Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, or BOSS.

The tiny homes will give unsheltered people access to small units with a bed, kitchenette, restroom and dining area.

In addition, those granted a tiny home will also have access to county resources including long-term housing help, social services, medical, behavioral health, and substance use services, according to the Alameda County Public Health Department.
MORE: Volunteers building unpermitted tiny homes for San Jose's homeless
In addition, 15 of these units will be prioritized for medical respite for those who are too sick or frail to recover from a physical illness or injury on the street but do not require a hospital setting.

"We believe housing is health care and interim housing can be instrumental in healing and assisting people in their transition into permanent housing," said Colleen Chawla, director of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.

More than 8,000 people experience homelessness in Alameda County each night, with 79% of this population experiencing unsheltered homelessness on the street, in tents or vehicles, county officials said.

Skyrocketing rents over the last decade have contributed to homelessness, as more than 80% of those who are currently experiencing homelessness in Alameda County lived here before losing their home, officials said.
MORE: Homeless activists build 'Right to Exist' tiny homes in Oakland over MLK weekend
The concept of tiny homes has taken off in recent years as a way to shelter homeless people in relatively affordable units.

Most efforts are sanctioned by local cities.

However, in San Jose last week, a group of volunteers began building tiny shelters for the homeless, hoping they don't get caught. They're doing it in an undisclosed location, without permits, hoping the benefit outweighs the cost.

The volunteers from groups such as, Feed the Block, Hero Tent and Black Outreach, said they felt it was imperative to take housing for the homeless into their own hands because the city of San Jose simply isn't doing enough.

"That is not just a feeling, but I feel like it is evident by the many hundreds of unhoused people that are around here," says Yusuf Labib with Black Outreach.

But San Jose officials countered that narrative: The city is already operating five tiny home sites, housing 400 formerly homeless individuals and they're considering a sixth location.

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34 new 'tiny homes' for unsheltered near San Leandro

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Alameda County has formally opened a new "Tiny Home Village" with 34 units near San Leandro in an effort to end homelessness, officials announced on Thursday. The village is located at the Fairmont Navigation Center. And the program is being managed by Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, or BOSS.

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https://www.12neighbours.com/

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12 Neighbours is a non-profit.
Every dollar raised will go towards providing someone in need with a home, a support system, and a fresh start.

To donate to this community, send an e- transfer to info@12neighbours.com.

We will send you a receipt in return.
We appreciate your support.

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Affordable Housing | 12 Neighbours Community | Fredericton

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12 Neighbours is a non-profit. Every dollar raised will go towards providing someone in need with a home, a support system, and a fresh start. To donate to this community, send an e- transfer to info@12neighbours.com. We will send you a receipt in return. We appreciate your support.

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9715 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97266, USA

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9715 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97266, USA

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9715 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97266, USA

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MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY

Agape Village is constructed on a portion of the property at Central Nazarene Church which is located in a part of Portland that is under-resourced when it comes to helping the houseless population.

Ever since the church opened its doors, there have been houseless people living on, and near, the property. Several years ago, the church really began to look at what it means to love God and to love our neighbor. In this search, hearing what other villages were doing, working with other churches and organizations, and in trying to love our houseless neighbors, Agape Village was born.

The ultimate goal is to create a village which involves the entire community in giving our neighbors a hand-up. We want this village to be a win-win for everyone - making our community safer while giving people a chance to find health and stability.

Get the latest updates by following us on Facebook .

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Agape Village is constructed on a portion of the property at Central Nazarene Church which is located in a part of Portland that is under-resourced when it comes to helping the houseless population. Ever since the church opened its doors, there have been houseless people living on, and near, the property.

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Albuquerque Indian Center, 105 Texas St SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, USA

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Albuquerque Indian Center, 105 Texas St SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, USA

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Albuquerque Indian Center, 105 Texas St SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, USA

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https://tinyhousetalk.com/tiny-house-village-in-albuquerque/

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Tiny House Talk - Freedom in Small Spaces

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This is a tiny house village designed as transitional housing for those currently experiencing homelessness.

The goal is for the village to help residents become self-sufficient through the offerings at the village. It's located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Currently, they are not accepting new applicants until March 1, 2021. According to their website, there is already an extensive resident waiting list.
Don't miss other inspiring stories like this, join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

Tiny home village in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Transitional housing for those experiencing homelessness

Financial donations accepted for the village here

The following two tabs change content below.

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This is a tiny house village designed as transitional housing for those currently experiencing homelessness. The goal is for the village to help residents become self-sufficient through the offerings at the village. It's located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Currently, they are not accepting new applicants until March 1, 2021.

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16 Mary Street West, St. Thomas, ON N5P 2S3

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16 Mary Street West, St. Thomas, ON N5P 2S3

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16 Mary Street West, St. Thomas, ON N5P 2S3

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YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin, Sanctuary Homes and Doug Tarry Limited (DTL) have come together as local St. Thomas-Elgin organizations to work collaboratively with shared interests related to affordable housing in St. Thomas. Project Tiny Hope's vision is that all members of the community have access to safe, affordable, clean, and sustainable housing.

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Victoria is one step closer to building a tiny-home village out of shipping containers to temporarily house people in need, according to the city's mayor and a local non-profit involved in the project.

Our Place Society announced Monday its staff will manage the proposed supportive housing project, which could soon be located in a city-owned parking lot at 940 Caledonia Ave. If completed, it could house 30 people in as many units, made out of 15 shipping containers, by the end of the month.

The village would help with the city and province's plan to move all unhoused Victoria residents indoors by March 31. According to Mayor Lisa Helps, who spoke to CBC's On The Island on Wednesday, the project is "very likely" to go ahead.

The tiny home concept began in December when Aryze Developments and the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness started a crowdfunding effort to help pay for the the project, eventually raising nearly half a million dollars.

Each micro-home will have a floor size of around 100 square feet and will be equipped with a bed, desk, chair, wardrobe and fridge. They will have electricity but no cooking capacity; residents will have meals delivered and will also have access to a common area to cook and reheat food. Showers and washrooms will be communal.

"It will just be a simple home, but a home nonetheless," said Julian Daly, CEO of Our Place in an interview on CBC's On The Island on Tuesday.

The point of the homes, which Daly expects will be on the Caledonia Avenue site until September 2022, is ultimately to move people into permanent housing by having staff work with each resident to create a tailor-made transition plan.

That plan, said Daly, would look at the individual's health and financial and employment needs to help them not only secure permanent housing, but also keep it - something Daly said is very hard for people struggling with poverty, addiction and mental health issues.

The site will be staffed 24/7 and have security guards posted on the perimeter at night. All residents will be able to lock their units and no guests will be allowed.

Helps said council has already unanimously approved permit applications from Aryze and the Coalition and the next step for the city will be to hear from the public on March 18.

"We would be very hard pressed to turn that one down," said Helps about the plausibility of the project moving forward.

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Plan for temporary tiny-home village in Victoria made of shipping containers gets closer to reality | CBC News

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Victoria is one step closer to building a tiny-home village out of shipping containers to temporarily house people in need, according to the city's mayor and a local non-profit involved in the project. Our Place Society announced Monday its staff will manage the proposed supportive housing project, which could soon be located in a city-owned parking lot at 940 Caledonia Ave.

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https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/03/part-of-seattles-push-to-house-more-people-in-response-to-covid-19-a-new-tiny-house-village-is-coming-to-the-central-district/

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An effort "to increase shelter capacity for Seattle's vulnerable unsheltered populations living in unsafe encampments" will add 30 homes in another Tiny House Village in the Central District:

The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) is building a new tiny house village at Cherry and 22nd in the Central Area on land owned by the Christ Spirit Church (formerly Cherry Hill Baptist). This site will include 26 tiny houses, a security pavilion, a community kitchen, staff and counseling offices, and bathrooms. Development of the village will begin on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 612 22nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98122. The village, along with staff and supportive services, will be ready for occupancy by the end of March. There will be 24/7 staffing and case management available on-site to help connect residents to housing and services. This village is supported by members of the church. The village is receiving operational support from the City of Seattle - in support of citywide efforts to create additional spaces for people living unsheltered during the COVID-19 crisis. Volunteers support in the construction of tiny houses.

The new Cherry village will be run by the Low Income Housing Institute nonprofit that operates the city's Tiny House Villages. The effort is part of emergency measures from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan as the region deals with the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement on the new investments, LIHI Executive Director Sharon Lee thanked the mayor for "providing resources quickly to stand up Cherry Hill Village."

"There are too many unsheltered homeless men and women who are vulnerable and sleeping outside in the cold," Lee said. "Many of them already have compromised health and weakened immunity."

The new village in the Central District joins True Hope Village at 18th and Yesler and the Union Tiny House Village at 22nd and Union. The 22nd and Union location is in search of a new home after its sponsoring church said it was "exploring new and possibly better ways to utilize our property." An original January deadline has been extended into the spring to give the facility time to find a new property to call home.

To help house more people during the city's COVID-19 emergency, Cherry Hill Village's 30 units will be joined by a new Lake Union Tiny House Village and the transition of the former Evergreen Treatment Facility in the Bitter Lake neighborhood intou housing with capacity for up to 50 people.

The city says the new facilities are not currently planned as possible quarantine sites. "At this time, the City is not expecting any of these sites to be quarantine or isolation sites," an announcement of the new housing reads. "HSD will follow direction from Public Health Seattle King County to determine medical needs and agency support required to safely and effectively operate these new resources in relation to COVID-19. All locations will be accompanied with ongoing services, staffing, and support."

King County has announced several locations to serve as quarantine, isolation, and recovery sites "for people who are not able to use their homes for this purpose."

The mayor's office says it is is partnering with King County on "standing up these shelters."

These include people traveling, people who cannot be at home, and those who are homeless. Sites are located in White Center, Kent, Interbay, and North Seattle. This will create capacity for approximately 213 individuals. At this time, no COVID-19 patients are currently occupying any of the sites. King County is continuing to seek additional sites across the region. The City will seek funding from the State of Washington and federal emergency sources to stand up and operate these shelters. The City is committed to bringing these important shelter resources online and operating these programs throughout the COVID-19 response and potentially beyond to meet the needs of vulnerable people living outdoors. Note, the City can stand up 500 additional emergency shelter spaces in 24 to 48 hours, as seen with recent winter storm responses. The City will evaluate this option in consultation with PHSCK as the situation evolves. The City is continuing to explore avenues for opening additional shelters in the weeks ahead and is working with other government agencies to identify resources and locations.

"Any new shelter expansion would require funding support from state and federal sources," the city adds.

Last fall, District 3 representative Kshama Sawant made the villages part of her push for more funding for housing and homelessness during the 2020 budgeting process. Here proposal forged a path for the village expansion by exempting religious organizations from permitting requirements for encampments on property owned or controlled by them. The tiny villages on church properties are still subject to safety and public health provisions.

Each tiny village house costs roughly $2,200 in materials and is wired for electricity. A bathroom pavilion, a kitchen tent, and showers are also typically part of the village plans. The communities are self managed and residents hold meetings to work on the management of the camps.

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Part of Seattle's push to house more people in response to COVID-19, a new Tiny House Village is coming to the Central District

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An effort "to increase shelter capacity for Seattle's vulnerable unsheltered populations living in unsafe encampments" will add 30 homes in another Tiny House Village in the Central District: The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) is building a new tiny house village at Cherry and 22nd in the Central Area on land owned by the Christ Spirit Church (formerly Cherry Hill Baptist).

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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/mayor-murray-to-announce-locations-of-3-new-homeless-camps-in-seattle/

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Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday announced the sites of three new, authorized homeless encampments, in Licton Springs and Georgetown and on Myers Way South.

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Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday announced three of the four sites where he wants to place new, authorized homeless encampments of tents and tiny houses.

The three sites will serve more than 200 starting early next year and will be in Georgetown, Licton Springs and on Myers Way South between White Center, Highland Park and South Park, Murray said.

There already are three authorized homeless encampments in Seattle - in Ballard, Interbay and Rainier Valley. The city helped open those in late 2015 and early this year.

Some neighbors protested the siting of the first three encampments, with the Ballard location causing the greatest uproar. But opposition has died down since they opened.

The four additional encampments are part of a plan the mayor unveiled in October, when the City Council was debating changes related to illegal camping.

That plan, which Murray said would address the needs of people living without shelter in the short term while the city moves to reform its homeless-services system, also includes tripling the number of outreach workers assigned to connect with people living in illegal camps. Such camps have proliferated across the city in recent years.

With his plan - composed of actions he says he can take unilaterally, under his executive authority - the mayor wants to put an end to a City Council ordinance initially proposed in August by the American Civil Liberties Union, Columbia Legal Services and other groups that advocate for the rights of people who are homeless.

The details of the ordinance were in flux through October, when the council shelved the issue to work on the city's budget. But the aim was to give new legal protections to people camping without permission on Seattle property by adding requirements for when and how the city can evict them and clear away their things.

While Murray's plan would update protocols for clearing camps and ramp up collections of trash and needles, it wouldn't go as far as a version of the council ordinance championed by Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

Now that the council has approved the city's new budget, members plan to again turn to the issue of homeless camps. Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who chairs the council's human-services committee, has signaled support for Murray's plan.

The exact locations of the sites are, according to the mayor's office: 1000 S. Myrtle St. in Georgetown, 8620 Nesbit Ave. N. in Licton Springs, and 9701 Myers Way S. There's no fourth site yet, the mayor's office said.

The Licton Springs and Georgetown encampments will each contain up to 50 tiny houses and serve 60 to 70 people, while the Myers Way South encampment will contain up to 50 tents and also serve 60 to 70 people, Murray's office said.

The Georgetown site, owned by the city, is adjacent to Fire Station 27. The Licton Springs site is located just off Aurora Avenue North on property owned by the nonprofit Low Income Housing Institute. The Myers Way South site is on city greenbelt land where people experiencing homelessness began camping over the summer. The Licton Springs site will have minimal entry requirements in order to better serve people suffering from substance-abuse disorders and behavioral disorders, Murray's office said.

There will be community meetings for each site in January, the office said.

Councilmember Debra Juarez, whose District 5 includes Licton Springs, says she welcomes the encampment.

"At a time when over 2,000 people are unsheltered in the city, now is the time to show compassion and determination to find stable solutions," Juarez said.

She said the Licton Springs encampment is expected to open in about March, "which gives us time to have conversations and address questions from the community."

Steve Dahl, a Vietnam War-era veteran who's been sleeping in a tent since August, when he moved to Seattle from Wisconsin to be near a niece, says authorized encampments make sense but are no panacea.

The 61-year-old has been working as a day laborer and he says he'd rather keep his own company until the social worker he's been meeting with can place him in housing.

Dahl doesn't mind other vets but says "you have the street people and the drug people - they don't want a house." Most shelters are out of the question because sleeping in a crowded room reminds him of a military career he found traumatic.

When the city on Wednesday told Dahl and a dozen others to quit a spot under a bridge near Safeco Field, he says he simply moved his tent a short distance away.

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3 new homeless-encampment sites announced by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

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Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday announced the sites of three new, authorized homeless encampments, in Licton Springs and Georgetown and on Myers Way South. Share story Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Thursday announced three of the four sites where he wants to place new, authorized homeless encampments of tents and tiny houses.

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Tiny Homes for Homeless Jefferson and MLK

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The Changing Horse Charity - Blood Tribe Members

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By Tim Kalinowski on July 2, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALD tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

One Blood Tribe not-for-profit society feels tiny homes might be part of the solution to homelessness on the reserve, and other First Nations across Canada, and is hoping to prove the concept works by constructing a new supportive housing complex at Moses Lake.
The Changing Horses NFP Society received an Indigenous Services Canada Indigenous Housing Innovative Initiative (IHII) grant, (one of only 24 projects chosen across Canada), in 2019 which was supposed to provide seed money to begin construction on its four unit tiny house supportive housing complex in 2020. The project was ultimately delayed by COVID-19, but is beginning to gear up again this summer.
The Changing Horses NFP Society was finally able to hold a blessing ceremony performed by local Elder Alice Wolf Child for the construction site on Wednesday morning, and will enter the final pre-planning stages for a groundbreaking in August, says the Society's vice-president and lead innovator Katie Rabbit-Young Pine.
"We are going to have four separate homes, but all of them are going to be duplexes," Rabbit-Young Pine explains. "One small (tiny home) and a larger one attached. We are just going to call them units. We are going to have four units but we are probably going to be able to house between 12 and 14 homeless individuals.
"To others looking out at us, it's a small project. But, for us, it's a big project. It is not going to house everyone that needs to be housed, but we have got to start somewhere."
Tiny homes are becoming a trend worldwide as homeowners seek to build and live in affordable, compact spaces, or "tiny homes" as the name suggests. Generally the homes are made of sustainable materials, and seek to be self-sustaining and self-sufficient.
Rabbit Young-Pine is hopeful if her group can complete its project and show it works to help address the issue of homelessness on the Blood Tribe reserve, and will catch on at other First Nations across Canada.
"Changing Horses is probably the first group ever on the Blood reserve that has gotten together not under the umbrella of chief and council that has started something like this to provide the housing for some of our homeless," she says. "We are looking to prove ourselves. I believe if we are able to do that, we could do a lot more on the Blood reserve and other First Nation communities.
"We want to get out there and be able to do things with other communities in Alberta and all across Canada. I think there is a potential for these homes."
The group has received its first donated tiny home to kick off the project, and will receive funding from the IHII grant for other parts of the project, but Rabbit-Young Pine says the Changing Horses NFP Society will still need more support to fully get the tiny house supportive housing complex to where they envision it.
"We need more support," she states. "So any foundations out there that are running out of places to contribute; well, give me a call."

Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter

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Tiny homes project to help homelessness in Blood Tribe - Medicine Hat News

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LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com One Blood Tribe not-for-profit society feels tiny homes might be part of the solution to homelessness on the reserve, and other First Nations across Canada, and is hoping to prove the concept works by constructing a new supportive housing complex at Moses Lake.

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First Nation Partnership with Community Living

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Tiny home projects or "villages" have been proposed in major cities like Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Now, a couple of organizations in the Kenora district are exploring the prospect of building tiny homes specifically for young people aging out of care.

These tiny homes are emerging as a possible, cost-effective solution to address the housing in these communities.

"We're seeing a significant increase in young adults who are aging out of the care system or have aged out of the care system to within our homeless population, particularly in Kenora," said Henry Wall, the chief administrative officer for the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB).

With the remarkable increase in construction supplies as a result of the pandemic, Wall said North American communities will have to ditch "this idea that we need big homes with a large footprint," and move toward houses that have smaller footprints and lower utility bills.

"We are very confident that these pilots will demonstrate that the tiny home is a real solution for northern Ontario."

Young people want 'a place to call home'

The Kenora Association of Community Living (KACL), which provides services to children, adults with developmental disabilities and adults with mental health needs, is one of the organizations with a tiny home pilot project.

Deborah Everley, the chief executive officer of the KACL, said her agency isn't a housing provider, but in recent years they've had to move into that role.

"What we've been finding is that obviously if people don't have a place to call home, then all the supports in the world aren't necessarily going to be as impactful," Everley said.

The association is preparing their first tiny home for a summer move-in date. It's a converted shipping container that is attached to an existing residence operated by the KACL.

"What young people told us is that they wanted to have their own home, a place to call home, and they didn't want to have staff inside their home unless they were invited in," said Everley.

The idea isn't to build a tiny home community, Everley added, but to test whether this model is affordable and provides the right infrastructure to support young people gain the skills of being a good tenant or homeowner and give them more independence and stability.

Henry Wall of the KDSB added the tiny home is a good example of a purpose-built housing that allows for required programming and services to be onsite.

"Purpose-built housing is designed to allow young adults to make mistakes without it resulting in an eviction," said Wall. "That type of housing stock just doesn't really exist."

He said a number of housing projects are planned for the Kenora district, including a $1.5-million housing support program for youth aging out of the care system.

Youth-led project brings renewable energy and housing solution to First Nation

Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, a First Nation with roughly 2,000 members about 120 kilometres northwest of Kenora, is also looking at tiny homes to address a shortage of housing on-reserve.

The idea of a tiny house powered by solar was actually the idea of a group of youth from the First Nation who were involved with either the child welfare system or the youth criminal justice system, said Gillian Matheson, the mental health coordinator with Wabaseemoong's child and youth wellness centre.

"At the time, they decided that housing was the biggest need and if they had stable, safe housing, they would be able to lead a better life essentially," Matheson said.

Since 2018, the First Nation has been working to make the idea come to fruition.

They started a youth mentorship program that has taught young people construction skills completing a range of projects in the community and in the bush, they developed drawings for the tiny home and they received funding to build the first tiny home and to pay young community members to do the construction.

But the pandemic has forced the tiny home team to re-consider their plans.

"The cost of building materials has gone up by 300 per cent," said Matheson, "but we're kind of at a standstill right now because the funding that we applied for last year is no longer enough to actually build the tiny home."

Matheson said there is a lot of community excitement about the project, and they hope the first tiny home can become a model for how Wabaseemoong and can provide more housing for its members.

She said the youth-led project team hopes to begin construction this season.

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Facing a housing crisis, Kenora-area organizations look to tiny homes as solution for youth aging out of care | CBC News

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That the Kenora district, and frankly many cities, towns and First Nations across northern Ontario are staring down a housing crisis is nothing new. And as political leaders across the country dole out billions and seek creative solutions to address the crisis, tiny homes are emerging as a possible, cost-effective solution.

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https://www.magdala-house.org/

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Magdala House, formerly Magdala Foundation, was formed in 1968 as the first halfway house for women in St. Louis. For over 55 years, our programs have expanded to housing adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, assisting the unhoused to find permanent housing, and, recently, an adul

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https://www.hopeofthevalley.org/arroyoseco/#arroyotour

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Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village - Hope The Mission

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Los Angeles opens the largest Tiny Home Village in the country at Arroyo Seco Park in Highland Park, California.

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Construction begins on tiny model house for homeless in Charleston

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https://tinyhousetalk.com/portland-greenlights-tiny-homes-for-homeless/

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Tiny House Talk - Freedom in Small Spaces

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Well this is good news for the homeless in Portland, Oregon! The government has approved a new pilot program called "A Place For You" that will allow willing participants to housing homeless people in tiny modular units paid for by the government and charitable donations.

The Portland Press Herald reported:

Under the pilot program taking effect this summer, the homeowners will take over the heated, fully plumbed tiny houses in five years and can use them for rental income...Residents just passed a $260 million housing bond, but it will be two years before those units are ready, said Mary Li, director of Multnomah County's new Idea Lab, which developed the concept.

The best part? About 200 homeowners have already signed up to get more information about the project because they are eager to help the homeless in a tangible way. Read the rest of the story here.

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Portland Greenlights Tiny Homes for Homeless

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Well this is good news for the homeless in Portland, Oregon! The government has approved a new pilot program called "A Place For You" that will allow willing participants to housing homeless people in tiny modular units paid for by the government and charitable donations.

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2490 Grove Way, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States

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2490 Grove Way, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States

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2490 Grove Way, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States

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Tiny homes are big solutions to Bay Area homeless thanks to new program in Castro Valley

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Interested in applying to be a resident of our Tiny House Empowerment Village transitional housing program? If you're between the ages of 18-23, identify either Oakland or Berkeley as your home city, and are currently "literally" homeless as defined by Home Stretch ( https://everyonehome.org/our-work/home-stretch/), please click below!

We are accepting applications on a rolling basis and will put all eligible applicants on our waitlist for any future openings. For instructions on where to mail your application, please reference the above link. Applications can also be emailed to tinyhouseapplications@youthspiritartworks.org

In January of 2016, youth at YSA initiated a community organizing campaign to build a Tiny House Village for homeless youth in the San Francisco East Bay Area. As of 2021, we've built 26 beautiful, youth-designed houses with the help of over 2,000 volunteers in Habitat-for-Humanity-style builds. We plan to open the Tiny House Empowerment Village in early 2021! We're working in partnership with non-profit developer Housing Consortium of the East Bay and the local interfaith community to complete a multi-faceted, community-led Village that is designed by the young people it will benefit. The completed Village will feature:

26 secure 8′ x 10′ Tiny Houses with

On-site communal bathrooms and showers

A kitchen yurt for residents to cook weekly communal meals and securely store their own food

A community gathering space for meetings

On-site Resident Assistants who live in the community

As a part of living at the Village, all residents will be engaged in building a strong and connected community. Youth- and volunteer-led clubs will give residents many opportunities for personal and professional growth, including access to training and mentorship in the following areas: artmaking, art entrepreneurship and sales, nonprofit management, gardening, sewing, medicine, music, biking and exercise, cooking, construction, and more. Residents will be supported in developing a responsibility to the community at large, achieved through connections to local faith organizations and active involvement with local social justice projects. Additionally, all residents at the Village will take part in YSA's core jobs training program, where they will receive wrap-around case management services and engage in youth-led workshops around healthy interpersonal relationships, restorative practices, and more.

We are actively recruiting members of our community to support us with advocacy, fundraising, and building at our Habitat-for-Humanity-style builds.

The Youth Housing Crisis

The Tiny House Empowerment Village project was initiated by young people in YSA's programs in response to the crisis of affordable and accessible housing. There are more than 1,700 homeless young people sleeping on the streets in Alameda County on a given night, and fewer than 36 youth-designated beds in shelters and affordable housing. Young people facing housing instability h ave overwhelmingly experience abuse and neglect, mental and physical health struggles, and lack of access to public resources.
Youth Spirit Artworks' Tiny House Empowerment Village will increase the number of youth-designated beds in the county by almost 40%.
The Tiny House prototype, unveiled in 2017, was designed and built by 6 youth leaders working with local architects, design students, and contractors. Now, in 2021, we need your help to complete the Village.

Interfaith Activism

The Tiny House Empowerment Village is a multifaith project, involving the support of over 25 congregations. We are continuously grateful for the religious community's commitment to justice, advocacy, and service work for the most vulnerable members of our communities.

Lead Congregations
Congregation Beth El, Berkeley
First Congregational Church of Berkeley
Kehilla Community Synagogue, Oakland
Shiloh Christian Fellowship, Oakland
Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley

Participating Congregations/Faith-Based Agencies
All Souls Episcopal Church, Berkeley
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
Congregation Beth Israel, Berkeley
Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley
East Bay Church of Religious Science, Oakland
Oak Life Church, Oakland
Shambhala Meditation Center, Berkeley
St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Albany
St. Columba Catholic Church, Oakland
St. John's Episcopal Church, Oakland
Strawberry Creek Friends Meeting, Berkeley
Temple Beth Abraham, Oakland
Temple Sinai, Oakland

To get your congregation involved, email us.

100 Homes for 100 Homeless Youth

Our work to create housing for at-risk youth doesn't stop with the Tiny House Empowerment Village. In response to the dire need for youth housing, Youth Spirit Artworks is engaged in a ten-year community organizing campaign to create "100 Homes for 100 Homeless Youth" in the East Bay Area. Over the next ten years, the YSA youth's plan is to eventually create:

25 youth Tiny Houses

25 beds in a total of five rented or purchased "co-op" houses

50 new, dedicated units of youth housing as part of a larger affordable housing project.

Get Involved!

We're seeking people of all ages and abilities to help out at our build days. If you would like to be involved with advocacy, please consider committee membership to get involved with planning and outreach for our Tiny House Empowerment Village. To volunteer with the Tiny House Empowerment Village in any way, please email our Tiny House Project Coordinator Jilly de la Torre at jilly@youthspiritartworks.org.

If you would like to donate to the Tiny House Village, please click here and scroll down to "Tiny House Village."

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Interested in applying to be a resident of our Tiny House Empowerment Village transitional housing program? If you're between the ages of 18-23, identify either Oakland or Berkeley as your home city, and are currently "literally" homeless as defined by Home Stretch ( https://everyonehome.org/our-work/home-stretch/), please click below!

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Can Tiny Homes Solve Homelessness In The U.S.?

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Carpenter builds tiny homes for the homeless | All Good

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Mendenhall unveils tiny home program to help SLC homeless

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https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/victoria-s-tiny-homes-village-welcomes-first-residents-1.5428438

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VICTORIA -- The Tiny Homes Village transitional housing project in Victoria has received its first round of residents on Friday.

The housing project in the North Park Neighbourhood across from Royal Athletic Park is built out of converted shipping containers and will house 30 people who have been living in parks during the pandemic.

The initiative was started by Aryze Developments last December and received huge community support through crowdfunding and from the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, BC housing, and City of Victoria.

The site will be used for the next 18 months while the province builds other, more permanent housing in the region.

The Tiny Homes Village will be managed by Our Place Society and will be staffed 24/7 with at least two staff and one security guard.

Our Place says its first priorities are pretty clear.

"People are just not sure what to expect," said Becky Carlow, site supervisor for Our Place Society. "So making sure people are feeling safe, making sure people know where things are, making sure people understand the guidelines for the community and also trying to ask people to build the community with us (is the goal)."

For one person moving in today, the timing couldn't be better.

"It's very exciting actually, to be moving in," said Darren Heap.

"I was in the hospital before this and living on the street before that, so this is definitely like, 'Wow' to me," he said.

Heap, who works in the trades, says he ended up living on the street after too many difficulties piled up at one time.

"I hope that eventually I'll get to be able to get on my feet again, living on social right now and hopefully get my business up and running," he said.

Carlow says the overall experience of working with all the agencies involved has been positive.

"All of these agencies have come together to create not just a place to stay, but somewhere people can grow and somewhere we can offer hope and belonging," she said.

Each tiny home measures 160-square-feet and includes a bed, small fridge, side table and armoire with towels.

The village also includes communal showers and washrooms, a common space, an office, storage space and planter boxes for vegetables.

view larger image

30 people are expected to stay in the temporary shelters made out of converted shipping containers: May 14, 2021 (CTV News)

30 people are expected to stay in the temporary shelters made out of converted shipping containers: May 14, 2021 (CTV News)

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Victoria's Tiny Homes Village welcomes first residents

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VICTORIA -- The Tiny Homes Village transitional housing project in Victoria has received its first round of residents on Friday. The housing project in the North Park Neighbourhood across from Royal Athletic Park is built out of converted shipping containers and will house 30 people who have been living in parks during the pandemic.

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The Youth Transition Project (YTP) is a public-private partnership focused on youth ages 16-23 transitioning from foster care or experiencing homelessness. The centerpiece of the project is a tiny-home village with comprehensive life skills, employment training, education and well-being supports provided by the broader community. The goal is that disconnected West Virginia youth are supported to reach their full potential as they transition into adulthood.

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The Youth Transition Project (YTP) is a public-private partnership focused on youth ages 16-23 transitioning from foster care or experiencing homelessness. The centerpiece of the project is a tiny-home village with comprehensive life skills, employment training, education and well-being supports provided by the broader community. The goal is that disconnected West Virginia youth are supported...

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1601 15th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105, USA

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1601 15th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105, USA

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1601 15th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA 98105, USA

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https://humaninterests.seattle.gov/2021/11/16/expansion-of-interbay-tiny-house-village-provides-30-new-units-of-shelter/

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Today, the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) announced the completion of the planned expansion of Interbay Tiny House Village, adding a new hygiene station and 30 new units of shelter which will serve up to an additional 35 people. This project is a continuation of the partnership between the City of Seattle, the Port of Seattle, and the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), first established in 2017.

Interbay Tiny House Village, located on Port of Seattle's property at 1601 15th Ave W, will now provide a total of 76 tiny houses with capacity to serve up to 90 people. The program provides 24/7 staffing, on-site case managers, behavioral health services, security, a community kitchen, on-site hygiene, and laundry.

This is the second of three tiny house village projects approved as part of the 2021 budget to come online in recent weeks and which will provide a total of 113 new village shelter units. Last month, Rosie's Tiny House Village in the University District opened providing 36 new tiny houses that can serve up to 50 people experiencing homelessness. The new Friendship Heights Tiny House Village in North Seattle is anticipated to open 47 units by the end of November.

"This year, we've opened hundreds of safer 24/7 shelter spaces including hotels and tiny homes to move people off the streets and into safer places. In the coming months, we will continue addressing the scale of the crisis through long-term investments that will bring online hundreds of permanent homes and more 24/7 shelter spaces," said Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. "There is more work to be done, but these life-saving investments will bring hundreds of households inside to safer spaces this winter while providing an essential pathway to housing."

"HSD staff continue to work tirelessly to bring hundreds of new shelter resources online as winter approaches and the department's homelessness investments role winds down with the start of the new King County Regional Homeless Authority next year. This challenging work during the ongoing pandemic, has resulted in more shelter options that provide 24/7 enhanced wraparound onsite services to help a person end their experience with homelessness," said Tanya Kim, Acting Director of HSD. "I want to thank the many partners who made this project a success including Mayor Durkan, the Port of Seattle, LIHI, Councilmember Lewis, Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), and everyone who supported this program for those most in need."

"Affordable housing is the only solution to homelessness. But it is plain to see we need immediate, temporary options for people living outside that are safe and secure," City Councilmember Andrew Lewis said. "Many thanks to our City staff and non-profit partners for their work standing up this critical resource to help people on their path to housing."

"LIHI is pleased to be able to provide an additional 35 individuals and couples safe, heated, welcoming tiny houses at our Interbay Village," said Sharon Lee, Executive Director of LIHI. "We are grateful to the Port of Seattle for making this expansion site available. We want to thank Mayor Durkan, Councilmember Lewis, and Port Commissioner Stephanie Bowman for their visionary leadership. It took the hard work of many people at the Port, HSD, FAS and LIHI working together to make today possible. With this expansion, Interbay Village can serve as a bridge to permanent housing for some 90 individuals and couples."

"The Port of Seattle is pleased to partner with the City of Seattle and the community to help address the homelessness crisis in our region," said Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. "Expanding the Tsubota village to make room for more tiny homes will help even more people get the shelter and the help they need so they can transition successfully into permanent housing."

Shelter referrals into the village will be made by HSD's HOPE Team based on shelter recommendations from their outreach provider partners. Interbay's Community Advisory Committee (CAC) will continue to meet monthly to provide community input on operations and address concerns. The CAC members often include immediate neighbors, businesses, community and faith groups, and service providers.

The City has leased the existing site from the Port of Seattle since November 2017. Since the village's opening, more than 246 households/people have been served, with approximately 35% of all exits going into permanent housing.

HSD will maintain oversight of this project through the end of the year. Beginning in 2022, the new King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) will take on administration of the homelessness budget and contracts, including all three new village projects opening this year. The City opened its first tiny house village in 2017 and now funds nine villages providing 363 units of shelter.

By the end of the year, the City funded system will include 2,837 units of shelter, an increase of over 530 beds over pre-pandemic levels (Q4 2019).
**This post was updated to include a quote from Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman

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Expansion of Interbay Tiny House Village Provides 30 New Units of Shelter

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Today, the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) announced the completion of the planned expansion of Interbay Tiny House Village, adding a new hygiene station and 30 new units of shelter which will serve up to an additional 35 people.

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https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/camp-hope-plans-to-erect-tiny-homes-village-in-terrace-heights/article_14d2e42f-0a59-5aa4-be3d-8f465c152d81.html

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A Terrace Heights hillside overlooking a swath of Yakima soon could become a village of up to 25 tiny homes for homeless people rebuilding their lives.

Homeless encampment Camp Hope is partnering with Spirit Alive Church in Terrace Heights and Yakima Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity to make it happen.

The church is donating more than 2½ acres for the project, while Habitat for Humanity will provide construction site supervisors. Camp Hope residents will do the work.

Camp Hope Director Mike Kay said the need is obvious and doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

There were 663 homeless people counted in Yakima County in the most recent Point-In-Time survey, conducted in 2020. More than a quarter - 180 - were living on the streets.

Kay hopes to have four tiny homes erected within the next few months, with more to come as fundraising efforts progress.

"If I can raise $100,000, we're up and going," he said.

Yakima Mayor Patricia Byers said she likes the plan for three reasons: It provides transitional housing, which is greatly lacking; it bridges service providers' efforts; and the units are far less expensive than other alternatives.

"I do support their plan," she said.

A helping hand

Just behind the Spirit Alive Church at 3601 Mountainview Ave. are the 2½ acres being donated for the project.

The land is sandwiched between the church, two homes on opposite ends, and an irrigation canal.

The site has easy access to the church and its park-like area.

"I think it's a nice touch - you've got a park down there with a gazebo and schools are close," Kay said while standing at the site one recent afternoon.

Pastor Jeff Allen said he was homeless as a youth. He said he dropped out of school, ran way and ended up living on the streets.

"It's a terrible place to be," he said.

Someone eventually reached out and helped him put his life together, Allen said, so he's paying it forward by providing the land for the project.

"Someone did that for me and I'm just trying to pass it back," he said.

Having residents assemble the shelters and help prepare the site gives them a sense of ownership in the project, said Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Meloney Rosen.

"The idea is that they will have some type of idea of what goes into a home so they will take better care of it," she said.

Residents who help with assembling the tiny village will be able to bank those sweat equity hours to put toward a permanent home through Habitat for Humanity, Rosen said.

Typically, people need to put in 500 hours - including 125 on the construction site - to qualify for a Habitat for Humanity home, she said.

"Those hours will be kept on file for five years," Rosen said. "The long-term plan will be once they stabilize, the goal then is we would help them through the process."

Onsite services

Wrap around services such as mental health and substance abuse counseling, employment assistance and life skills classes will be offered to village residents through Camp Hope and the church.

Residents will not be taken directly off the streets, Kay said.

They will have to show progress in programs geared to help them live more self-sustaining lives, he said.

Many of these programs - like substance abuse treatment - are already available through Camp Hope and the church, he said.

Church programs will be offered to residents but not required, Allen said.

Residents will be allowed to stay at the village for up to two years; the goal is to help them transition into permanent housing, Kay said.

Neither drugs nor alcohol will be allowed, he said.

Tiny homes

Kay plans to buy the tiny homes from Pallet, a company in Everett that manufactures small-panel shelters that are lightweight, easy to assemble, disassemble and store.

They are fastened together with nuts, bolts and pins, and each can be assembled within an hour. They are equipped with heating and cooling systems and can use electricity or solar power.

Houses come in two sizes - a 64-square-foot unit that accommodates up to two beds, and a 100-square-foot shelter that holds up to four beds. They cost $8,000 and $12,000, respectively.

There will be a larger shed equipped with a kitchen and commons area for the village, Kay said.

"The nice thing with those shelters is if we're up here and it doesn't work, we just unhook them and move them someplace else," he said.

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Camp Hope plans to erect tiny homes village in Terrace Heights

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A Terrace Heights hillside overlooking a swath of Yakima soon could become a village of up to 25 tiny homes for homeless people rebuilding their lives. Homeless encampment Camp Hope is partnering with Spirit Alive Church in Terrace Heights and Yakima Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity to make it happen.

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https://humaninterests.seattle.gov/2021/10/18/rosies-tiny-house-village-opens/

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A partnership between the City, Sound Transit, and LIHI, Rosie's Tiny House Village will provide on-site wrap-around services including case management and housing navigation to help people end their experience with homelessness

Today, the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) announced the opening of Rosie's Tiny House Village in the University District, which adds 36 new units of shelter and will serve up to 50 people currently living unsheltered. The new village, located at 1000 NE 45th Street, will provide 24/7 on-site staffing and wrap-around services including case management, hygiene, a common kitchen area, hot meals, housing navigation, employment, and health resources.

This project was a partnership between the City of Seattle and Sound Transit, which leased the property to the City at no cost. The lease is for one year and can be renewed for up to three years. The property will eventually be converted to a transit-oriented development. The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) will operate the village.

Click above for coverage of the Open House at Rosie's Tiny House Village

This is the first of three tiny house village projects approved as part of the 2021 budget. In total, 117 new village units are anticipated to open over the next month. The existing Interbay Tiny House Village will expand by 34 units and is expected to open by early November. This will bring the total number of tiny houses at Interbay to 70. The new Friendship Heights Tiny House Village in North Seattle is anticipated to open 47 units in mid-November.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous challenges to all of Seattle, but especially to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. As a city, we have allocated unprecedented resources to address the immediate impacts of the pandemic, such as creating a safer 24/7 enhanced shelter system, providing food access, and expanding hygiene resources. Still, we know that we must continue creating long-term investments in housing to address the scale of the crisis," said Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. "We expect to open 830 permanent homes and enhanced shelter spaces through the end of the year. These life-saving investments mean we will bring hundreds of households out of parks and public rights-of-way and into safer spaces while ending the experience of homelessness for hundreds more."

When the pandemic arrived in Seattle last year, HSD staff collectively pulled together to not only address the health and safety of shelter guests, but also to increase and improve our shelter inventory. While staff and providers have been stretched thin, this year alone HSD anticipates the opening of over 700 new 24/7 enhanced shelter spaces, including Rosie's, which will provide much needed safe shelter spaces as we approach winter. It takes many partners working towards the same goal of supporting our most vulnerable neighbors to make projects like Rosie's a reality. I would like to thank Mayor Durkan, Councilmember Pedersen, the Low Income Housing Institute, Sound Transit, our staff in HSD, Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), and everyone who played a part in standing up this program.
Tanya Kim, Acting Director of HSD

"LIHI is thrilled to be able to provide 50 people living unsheltered a safe, heated, welcoming tiny house, with privacy and dignity. What's even better, the village will serve as a bridge to permanent housing," said Sharon Lee, Executive Director of LIHI. "We are grateful for Mayor Durkan's and Councilmember Pedersen's leadership and Sound Transit for making this site available. It took the hard work of many people at Sound Transit, HSD, FAS and LIHI working together to make today possible. They should all take pride in helping make a difference in the lives of our unsheltered neighbors."

Councilmember Pedersen speaking at the Open House on September 28, 2021

"This new tiny home village is an inspiring example of partnerships among governments, nonprofits, and community to address our most pressing crisis- homelessness. By working together and leveraging publicly-owned land, we're creating a place, forging a path, and instilling hope for dozens of unsheltered people to come off the streets, stabilize their lives, and transition to permanent housing," said Councilmember Alex Pedersen, District 4 (Northeast Seattle). "I'm very grateful to Sound Transit, the Low Income Housing Institute, and HSD for enabling us to finally finish this life-saving project."

"This partnership is an example of how Sound Transit is working with cities to address the urgent challenges facing people experiencing homelessness," said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. "This innovative use of property first used for construction staging when building our new U District station is helping us tackle the most critical need burdening our region. We are grateful to the elected leaders of Seattle in partnering with us on this effort."

Shelter referrals into Rosie's will be made by HSD's HOPE Team based on shelter recommendations from their outreach provider partners. A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) will be formed to provide community input on operations and address concerns. The CAC will meet monthly and members often include immediate neighbors, businesses, community and faith groups, and service providers.

HSD will maintain oversight of this project through the end of the year. Beginning in 2022, the new King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) will take on administration of the homelessness budget and contracts, including all three new villages opening this year. The City opened its first tiny house village in 2017 and now funds nine villages providing 333 units of shelter.

By the end of the year, the City funded system will include 2,837 units of shelter, an increase of over 530 beds, of which 250 are permanent, over pre-pandemic levels (Q4 2019).
**This post was originally published on the Homelessness Response blog along with a table of City-funded shelter beds opening in Q3 and Q4 2021.

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Today, the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) announced the opening of Rosie's Tiny House Village in the University District, which adds 36 new units of shelter and will serve up to 50 people currently living unsheltered.

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COVID-19 Update: We are full! Staff are onsite Monday-Friday, and some children from the cottages are taking advantage of EduCare's school-age tutoring program every week.

The Home Yard Cottages provides affordable, permanent supportive housing units for families and individuals in 24 cottages. Fifteen of the cottages are net-zero with solar panels. Services include case management and community activities for the residents. In 2020, the Home Yard Cottages housed 34 adults and 38 children.

One of the key interventions in our work is providing access to affordable, safe housing. The Home Yard Cottages is a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) project we developed, and with many community partners, completed in September 2018 on two acres of land next to the Transitional Living Center. This has increased our capacity to end homelessness and enhance our continuum of services.

Residents receive supportive services to help them maintain stability and meet goals. PSH is the term that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses to describe housing provided to persons who have a disability, are low-income and have been homeless. If you are interested in housing at the Cottages, the Spokane Housing Authority manages the property and applications; for more information please call (509)795-8400.

The Home Yard Cottages include 24 individual homes, ranging in size from 475 sq ft for a single person to 1000 sq ft for a family of 6. Fifteen of the cottages are net-zero, complete with solar panels. They are built on property once used as the Spokane Children's Home orphanage and the land was called "the home yard." Thus, the Home Yard Cottages.

Rental information is available through the Spokane Housing Authority at www.spokanehousing.org.

How can I learn more?

A video introduction to the project

Some Research about the availability of affordable housing in Spokane County

A Frequently Asked Questions sheet

View photos from the Grand Opening on 9/12/18 here.

Site view created by Heylman Martin Architects.

Make an Impact at the Home Yard Cottages

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COVID-19 Update: We are full! Staff are onsite Monday-Friday, and some children from the cottages are taking advantage of EduCare's school-age tutoring program every week. The Home Yard Cottages provides affordable, permanent supportive housing units for families and individuals in 24 cottages. Fifteen of the cottages are net-zero with solar panels.

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830 Union Avenue Southeast, Olympia, WA 98501, USA

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830 Union Avenue Southeast, Olympia, WA 98501, USA

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830 Union Avenue Southeast, Olympia, WA 98501, USA

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https://www.lihihousing.org/villages/plumstreetvillage

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830 Union Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501

The Story

With 29 units, case management services, kitchen, laundry, and restroom/shower facilities Plum Street Village provides a safer place for individuals and couples to recover from homelessness and transition to permanent housing. Through the City of Olympia, this village serves local adult program participants experiencing homelessness. Referrals come through the Community Action Council.

About

contact

Olympia

Located in...

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830 Union Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501 The Story With 29 units, case management services, kitchen, laundry, and restroom/shower facilities Plum Street Village provides a safer place for individuals and couples to recover from homelessness and transition to permanent housing. Through the City of Olympia, this village serves local adult program participants experiencing homelessness.

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https://www.lihihousing.org/villages/lakeunionvillage

# data[].attributes.location_name
8030 15th Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA 98117, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
8030 15th Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA 98117, USA

# data[].attributes.subject
8030 15th Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA 98117, USA

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.lihihousing.org/villages/whittierheights

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
8030 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117

The Story

With 15 units, case management services, kitchen, laundry, and restroom/shower facilities, Whittier Heights Village provides a safer place for female identifying individuals experiencing homelessness, to transition into permanent housing. Referrals come through the City of Seattle's HOPE Team.

Built by Women for Women, a female focused carpentry apprenticeship program, with help from Home Street Bank and United Church, this village was made by womxn, for womxn!

About

contact

Seattle

Located in...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
8030 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117 The Story With 15 units, case management services, kitchen, laundry, and restroom/shower facilities, Whittier Heights Village provides a safer place for female identifying individuals experiencing homelessness, to transition into permanent housing. Referrals come through the City of Seattle's HOPE Team.

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1020 S Myrtle St, Seattle, WA 98108, USA

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https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-seattle-nonprofit-prefab-tiny-homes-backyards-homeless-2022-1?op=1

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A Seattle nonprofit is using Airbnb's model to put prefab tiny homes in backyards to shelter the homeless - see what they're like

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Unlike the tiny home villages that have been popping up around cities like Los Angeles, the Block Project's tiny homes are permanent housing units.

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1714 East Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122, USA

# data[].attributes.headline
1714 East Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122, USA

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1714 East Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122, USA

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https://www.lihihousing.org/villages/truehopevillage

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1714 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122

The Story

Through our partnership with Truevine of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church, and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church this village is open to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. True Hope Village has 33 tiny house units; a community kitchen, a hygiene trailer with restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities, staff offices, and a security pavilion. There is 24/7 staffing and case management on-site to help the program participants we serve obtain housing, employment, health care, education, and other services. Our community referrals come from the City of Seattle's HOPE Team, Seattle Indian Center, Urban League, Chief Seattle Club, Seattle Vocational Institute, Kids Plus, as well as the two sponsoring churches listed above.

About

contact

Seattle

Located in...

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1714 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122 The Story Through our partnership with Truevine of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church, and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church this village is open to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. True Hope Village has 33 tiny house units; a community kitchen, a hygiene trailer with restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities, staff offices, and a security pavilion.

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7544 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118, USA

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7544 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118, USA

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7544 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118, USA

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https://www.lihihousing.org/villages/othellovillage

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7544 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118

The Story

Located in the Othello neighborhood of Seattle, this village features 30 tiny houses which provide safe and supported enhanced shelter for up to 65 people. On-site case managers help with housing navigation, employment searches, health care and other services.
Othello was the first shelter that received funding from the city of Seattle, and was one the first tiny house villages in the state of Washington. It is sponsored by the Truevine of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church, which has supported the village since its inception. Referrals come through the City of Seattle's HOPE Team.

About

contact

Seattle

Located in...

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7544 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118 The Story Located in the Othello neighborhood of Seattle, this village features 30 tiny houses which provide safe and supported enhanced shelter for up to 65 people. On-site case managers help with housing navigation, employment searches, health care and other services.

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9701 Myers Way South, Seattle, WA 98108, USA

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9701 Myers Way South, Seattle, WA 98108, USA

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9701 Myers Way South, Seattle, WA 98108, USA

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https://www.lihihousing.org/villages/campsecondchance

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9701 Myers Way S, Seattle, WA 98108

The Story

Camp Second Chance has 50 tiny house units, and is managed by LIHI in partnership with the program participants through a self-managed model. On-site staff supports program participants in obtaining access to employment, education, healthcare, and housing. Referrals come through the City of Seattle's HOPE Team.

About

contact

Seattle

Located in...

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9701 Myers Way S, Seattle, WA 98108 The Story Camp Second Chance has 50 tiny house units, and is managed by LIHI in partnership with the program participants through a self-managed model. On-site staff supports program participants in obtaining access to employment, education, healthcare, and housing.

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3350 Mottman Rd SW, Tumwater, WA 98512, USA

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3350 Mottman Rd SW, Tumwater, WA 98512, USA

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3350 Mottman Rd SW, Tumwater, WA 98512, USA

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Donate now:
You can donate online by using your credit/debit card.
Send a check to:
Quixote Communities
3350 Mottman Rd SW
Olympia, WA 98512
​Your generous contributions help build a stronger community and make lasting change.

Richard lived at Quixote Village for about 2 years with his pups. Just recently, they were able to get their own apartment in Olympia!

Interested in volunteering? We are currently looking for community members to donate and cook meals on Wednesday nights. It can be one time only or on a recurring basis. It's a great way to meet residents and get to know the village on a more personal basis.

Community members with specific skills and services are most needed. We are looking for folks who are interested in cooking meals with residents and offering life skills classes!
Please email Hanna at volunteer@quixotecommunities.org.

Strader Hallett helped us turn over our gardens and stained our porches for this year's United Way Day of Caring 2018

​We are looking for sponsors to help keep our villages alive and well by adopting a tiny house there! With a two-year pledge ($1,650 for the first year and $1,500 for the second), sponsors will receive a beautiful plaque commemorating your contribution to the community, as well as your name/business featured in our newsletter and social media! The funds will help maintain a tiny home for two years.
Please Adopt a Tiny Home today in either Olympia, Orting, or Shelton!
​Contact us at (360) 791-8999 for more information.

Thank you plaque + your name on our sponsor board located on the walls at the village!

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Donate now: You can donate online by using your credit/debit card. Send a check to: Quixote Communities3350 Mottman Rd SWOlympia, WA 98512​Your generous contributions help build a stronger community and make lasting change. Richard lived at Quixote Village for about 2 years with his pups.

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1625 South Malcolm X Boulevard, Dallas, TX, USA

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1625 South Malcolm X Boulevard, Dallas, TX, USA

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1625 South Malcolm X Boulevard, Dallas, TX, USA

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https://www.bcworkshop.org/cottages

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Positioned at the gateway to downtown Dallas, The Cottages at Hickory Crossing provides an innovative union of permanent housing and support services for 50 chronically homeless citizens in Dallas. The project serves as a model for sustainable urban living by maximizing open space, incorporating on-site solar energy technologies, and integrating rainwater collection. While also producing a durable return on investment, these green strategies and activities create a supportive, healthy, and inviting environment.

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Positioned at the gateway to downtown Dallas, The Cottages at Hickory Crossing provides an innovative union of permanent housing and support services for 50 chronically homeless citizens in Dallas. The project serves as a model for sustainable urban living by maximizing open space, incorporating on-site solar energy technologies, and integrating rainwater collection.

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Community First! Village - Mobile Loaves & Fishes

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A 51-acre master planned community providing affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness.

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The Opportunity Village is a year-long homeless shelter program developed by The Dream Center. Using a "tiny house" model, the village provides 23 tiny houses and 10 transitional houses to shelter homeless women and children. The comprehensive program requires residents to take measurable action steps to regain their health, specifically in the areas of physical, financial, behavioral, spiritual, and workforce development. Throughout this year-long program, residents work through an Individualized Success Plan (ISP) for themselves and each of their children, with the help of their Case Manager, Financial Coach, and Care Coach to achieve their goals. Upon graduation from the program, residents are working, have reliable transportation, savings, and are offered the opportunity to enter the Bridge program. Bridge residents live in a transitional house for another year, while working and maintaining connection with The Opportunity Village team. In 2016, students from three local high schools EACH raised $15,000 to sponsor a tiny house and inspired the entire community to support this project. The success of The Opportunity Village has attracted the attention of organizations nationwide, many of whom have visited The Dream Center to learn how to duplicate the program model.

500 volunteers from all over the state to build the first homeless shelter program of its kind in the upstate of South Carolina.

Each month The Dream Center offers a tour designed for individuals interested in duplicating our "tiny house" program model in their community.

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Social Services | Easley, SC | The Dream Center

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The Dream Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit that exists to encourage, educate, and empower people in need through the love of Jesus Christ. Everything we do as an organization is intended to provide a hand UP, instead of a hand out.

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9401 NE Sunderland Ave, Portland, OR 97211, USA

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9401 NE Sunderland Ave, Portland, OR 97211, USA

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9401 NE Sunderland Ave, Portland, OR 97211, USA

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Dignity Village is a membership-based community in NE Portland, providing shelter off the streets for 60 people a night since 2000. Dignity Village envisioned and created the first Village Model shelter in North America. The Village Model is democratically self-administrated, self-governed, and self-operated with a mission to provide shelter that fosters community and self-empowerment- a radical experiment to end homelessness.

We came out of the doorways of Portland's streets, out from under the bridges, from under the bushes of public parks, we came openly with nothing and no longer a need to hide as Portland's inhumane and Draconian camping ban had just been overturned on two constitutional grounds. We came armed with a vision of a better future for ourselves and for all of Portland, a vision of a green, sustainable urban village where we can live in peace and improve not only the condition of our own lives but the quality of life in Portland in general. We came in from the cold of a December day and we refuse to go back to the way things were.

Please be aware that we do not have beds available for shelter at any time other than Winter. There is nearly always a waiting list for our houses and our winter shelter is actually our greenhouse for the rest of the year. Proof of up-to-date vaccination against COVID is required for entry. Please see our Village Intake Committee process for intake details.

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Dignity Village is a membership-based community in NE Portland, providing shelter off the streets for 60 people a night since 2000. Dignity Village envisioned and created the first Village Model shelter in North America. The Village Model is democratically self-administrated, self-governed, and self-operated with a mission to provide shelter that fosters community and self-empowerment- a...

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Community comes together to build a tiny house for the Land Back Movement - Imprint

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In support of the Land Back Movement, the Waterloo community came together to build a tiny house to help the Indigenous community protect their land. Imprint spoke with Adrian Blackwell, an Associate Professor in the Architecture faculty at UW, as well as Rob Reid, a UW Engineering Alumni for more information on the project.

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1414 Belleview St, Dallas, TX 75215, USA

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1414 Belleview St, Dallas, TX 75215, USA

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1414 Belleview St, Dallas, TX 75215, USA

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AIA Dallas has announced its 2017 Design Award recipients, including the Cottages at Hickory Crossing.

The Cottages at Hickory Crossing were completed at the end of February of 2017, and is now home to 50 residents. Located on a three-acre site less than a half-mile from downtown, the Cottages at Hickory Crossing provides permanent supportive housing and support services for the fifty most chronic cases of homelessness in Dallas. The integration of thoughtful design and robust services become a comprehensive approach to overcoming the chronic challenges residents face. To best understand the needs of future residents and service providers, the pre-design process included a combination of research, focus group charrettes, and a comprehensive engagement of stakeholders in the decision-making process.

The design is comprised of fifty, 430-square-foot cottage residences. Individual homes encourage stronger personal identity while promoting a sense of community for residents. Homes are arranged in clusters of 6-8 units to create semi-public spaces or "micro-neighborhoods". The 4,000-square-foot support-services building is a series of small buildings under one "porch" roof. While this building forms an urban edge at the street, it maintains a level of porosity for ease of access by residents. A series of courtyards and a common green provide flexible space for activities, from urban farming to outdoor recreation, encouraging interaction between neighbors.

The project seeks to serve as a model for sustainable urban living by maximizing open space, incorporating on-site rainwater collection and community garden space. LEED for Homes Platinum certification is expected to be completed in early 2018.

Beyond housing, the "wrap-around services" model and its architectural responses work to break the chronic challenges that residents face. 54 formerly homeless individuals living in permanent supporting housing facilities or shelters participated in a series of focus groups during the design process. Through collaboration with support services professionals and homeless individuals, the proposed design is an alternative typology that employs small and efficient individual homes for each resident. Transitional exterior spaces enable one to navigate through varying spatial experiences, from the more secluded porch to the shared courtyard, before reaching the common green.

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The Cottages Win AIA Design Award - [bc]

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AIA Dallas has announced its 2017 Design Award recipients, including the Cottages at Hickory Crossing. The Cottages at Hickory Crossing were completed at the end of February of 2017, and is now home to 50 residents.

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111 N Garfield St, Eugene, OR 97402, USA

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111 N Garfield St, Eugene, OR 97402, USA

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111 N Garfield St, Eugene, OR 97402, USA

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"Opportunity Village was the stepping stone of my transition into society. After only a few months of living there my girlfriend and I now are living a life where we are able to sustain a home on our own after being homeless for two years."

​

- Sam Johns,

former resident

Positive results...

Follow along on Facebook...

Words of Support...

​

"The city Council members and I have watched with interest and appreciation as Opportunity Village was built with donated labor and supplies and the residential community took shape. The City provided the land for the Village for a year as a pilot project. Because the work there has been so exceptional, the city council recently approved a two-year extension of the lease of the property. We consider it remarkably practical and productive to utilize this property for a self-managed village of people needing a safe place to shelter, store their possessions, and find community."

​

-Mayor of Eugene, Kitty Piercy

"It has gone better than I thought it would. [The Village] has not been a burden to the neighborhood in terms of crime impact."

-Eugene Police Lieutenant, Erik Klinko

"The City of Eugene has a long history of developing and managing services and policies to address homelessness in our community. The last few years have seen an increased emphasis on the need to address this issue, and this has challenged the City Council and staff to respond creatively. In 2011 we commissioned a Community Task Force on Homelessness, and it was following the work of this task force that Opportunity Village Eugene was formed. OVE set about to plan a village-a community of tiny houses supported by a shared kitchen, bathrooms, and meeting space, with self-management by residents through a resident council and community agreement. The City of Eugene provided on acre of land in West Eugene, and Opportunity Village was built.

By all counts, Opportunity Village has been successful as a pilot project. It has gained an immense amount of community support and goodwill-from citizens, from the Mayor and City Council, from the neighborhood group, and from the police department. There has also been interest and attention from people around the country-neighborhood and community leaders-who have come to visit and gain ideas and perhaps emulate the concept in their own communities."

-Eugene City Councilor, Chris Pryor

"From everything that I have seen and heard regarding Opportunity Village Eugene, it seems to be a great success, in terms of their goals and the commitments they made to the residents of the village, the neighborhood and the City Council... I have received zero complaints regarding Opportunity Village."

-Eugene City Councilor, Claire Syrett

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SquareOne Villages | Opportunity Village

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"Opportunity Village was the stepping stone of my transition into society. After only a few months of living there my girlfriend and I now are living a life where we are able to sustain a home on our own after being homeless for two years." ​ - Sam Johns, former resident Positive results...

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About Us

Board Members

​

Amanda D Myers, 2nd Vice-Chair Jomar Pastorelle, Secretary

Brian Walker, Governance Comm. Chair

​Staff

​

Audrey Shaw, UNCG Design Intern
Vacant, Project Manager

Past Board Members

​

​

Questions? Please contact us.

Meet the Board​

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About Us Board Members ​ Amanda D Myers, 2nd Vice-Chair Jomar Pastorelle, Secretary Brian Walker, Governance Comm. Chair ​Staff ​ Audrey Shaw, UNCG Design Intern Vacant, Project Manager Past Board Members ​ ​ Questions? Please contact us. Meet the Board​

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18 cottages - 15,000 - 350 square feet - homeless men - 7 acres - permanent supportive housing - code of conduct - good neighbour policy - donations - grants - program fee - subsidy

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Housing and walking with people toward restored lives.

ABOUT US

The mission of Second Wind is to house and walk with people toward restored lives. We are a not-for-profit organization that provides homes and hope!

Homelessness is a serious and complex problem in the United States. Factors contributing to homelessness go deep - well beyond the surface of an individual's current situation. Second Wind is based on a community first approach to ending homelessness.

Our work starts with building relationships with those who have become "invisible people", people for whom our community has given up hope. This is accomplished through our Homeless Crisis Alleviation work and our supportive housing cottage site. Research shows that "poverty" comes not only from a lack of resources, but also a lack of relationships. Therefore we focuses on building relationships with those who most desperately need a friend. Over time, trust is built and we are able to assist those who desire a changed lifestyle.

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Housing and walking with people toward restored lives. ABOUT US The mission of Second Wind is to house and walk with people toward restored lives. We are a not-for-profit organization that provides homes and hope! Homelessness is a serious and complex problem in the United States.

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49 (4 of them for families)

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Tiny Houses for Homeless Veterans | Veterans Community Project

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We are building a specialized community of tiny-homes and services to provide housing stability and address the underlying cause of the Veteran's homelessness.

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2801 E Division St, Springfield, MO 65803, USA

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2801 E Division St, Springfield, MO 65803, USA

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2801 E Division St, Springfield, MO 65803, USA

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"we didn't have the money to buy but God did"
30 people disability at least 1 year homeless - furnished - pay rent - neighbourhood watch - services - staff - volunteer - took 2 years - chronically homeless
- 10 people from a local church
created The Gathering Tree to provide rest to homeless people in the afternoon and evening - closed The Gathering Tree in 2018 to get people off the streets

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Building Our Neighbors, A Place To Call Home

America's first, of its kind, master planned manufactured tiny home community to serve Springfield's chronically homeless.

Eden Village - Springfield was the first of its kind, tiny home community, that made its debut in Springfield, Missouri in August of 2018. It has lifted disabled homeless individuals off the streets, into a home within a gated community of like individuals and the support of a community center and garden. The community center is furnished with a full kitchen, laundry room, computers, a library of books and DVDs, offices for professional service providers for support, as well as a community garden, woodworking shop, a neighborhood store, outdoor grills, and a storm shelter.

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Eden Village: Springfield, MO | Tiny Home Community for the Chronically Homeless

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Eden Village - Springfield was the first of its kind, tiny home community, that made its debut in Springfield, Missouri in August of 2018. It has lifted disabled homeless individuals off the streets, into a home within a gated community of like individuals and the support of a community center and garden.

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2475 N Nimitz Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96819, USA

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2475 N Nimitz Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96819, USA

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2475 N Nimitz Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96819, USA

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The son of a plantation worker, Duane Kurisu grew up on the Big Island's Hakalau Camp.

Now the Hawaii businessman is tapping into his roots, designing an affordable neighborhood modeled after plantation communities of years ago and just steps away from Oahu's largest homeless camp.

The innovative public-private partnership, called Kahauiki Village, will feature 200 tiny homes. They'll be erected on the state land where the old paintball field off Nimitz Highway used to be located

"Our goal is to make the homes reminiscent of how the homes looked like when we grew up," Kurisu said.

He added that the rent collected will be "solely for maintenance, security, onsite management, a fund to make sure the houses look decent 10, 20-years from now."

"We're going to make these units, one into a two-bedroom unit with a modular six-by-six foot bathroom, a six-foot kitchen. In the second unit, we're going to turn it into a studio and a one bedroom," said architect Lloyd Sueda

Kurisu added, "In between homes, you will see gardens. We envision breadfruit, banana and other fruit trees around the village."

This project is the first time the city, state and private sector have come together to work on a solution to homelessness.

Meanwhile, Kurisu and a long list of volunteers are taking care of the rest.

He added that employment will be at the core of the new village, much like the old plantation camps.

Kurisu says he hopes to begin building the first phase of homes by the start of the year.

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Tiny homes development aimed at helping ease homeless crisis

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The son of a plantation worker, Duane Kurisu grew up on the Big Island's Hakalau Camp. Now the Hawaii businessman is tapping into his roots, designing an affordable neighborhood modeled after plantation communities of years ago and just steps away from Oahu's largest homeless camp.

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5100 Blountstown Hwy, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA

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5100 Blountstown Hwy, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA

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5100 Blountstown Hwy, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA

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Our three models allow residents to move into a space that fits their budget and space requirements. Having a home should not come with strain - we want each resident to feel comfortable and safe.

As a social service community, we have specific program guidelines that all residents must adhere to, see here. Please review this document prior to inquiring about residency.

We know choosing a home is just one part of the move-in process. Safety comes next.
We are proud to say we have a dedicated team of safety specialists monitoring the grounds daily.

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Our three models allow residents to move into a space that fits their budget and space requirements. Having a home should not come with strain - we want each resident to feel comfortable and safe. As a social service community, we have specific program guidelines that all residents must adhere to, see here.

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If you haven't been there, you have never seen anything like this! River Haven is a self-governing community of 23 formerly-homeless people. They have been living in cleverly-designed Geodesic domes that have surpassed their lifespan of five years.

We are entering a new chapter in the River Haven journey and are investing in small houses made by Tuff Sheds as a replacement for the domes. Tuff Sheds are like "Tiny Houses" and have a 30-year warranty.

We're Celebrating!

We had a huge turn out for our ribbon cutting on June 27, 2018. Thank you to all who donated tiny houses!

Schedule a tour today!

Contact Suki Sir 805-652-0000 x 108 to check out River Haven, Safe Haven and more!

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River Haven River Haven is a new beginning for homeless individuals who are ready to transition into our local community. In 2005 Turning Point Foundation took a group of people living along the river bottom in tents and started them on the path to hope and the promise of turning their lives around.

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2771 Grove Ave, Sacramento, CA 95815, USA

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https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/06/13/county-proposes-a-second-south-sacramento-tiny-home-village-for-homeless-residents/

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County proposes a second South Sacramento tiny home village for homeless residents

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The 44-unit community, near Florin Road just west of Highway 99, would be the county’s second so-called Safe Stay Community, a model that aims to transition people from nearby encampments to more permanent housing.

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2202 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA

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2202 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA

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2202 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA

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131-A Stony Circle, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA

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https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-county-tiny-home-village-for-homeless-veterans-expected-to-open-next/

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Moving into a home of his own will mark the start of a new chapter for U.S. Navy veteran Jeffrey Lawrence.

The 48-year-old Cloverdale native said he became homeless in 2012 after a divorce and a struggle with substance abuse. He's now living in the Hearn House, a transitional housing facility for veterans, and has been sober for eight months.

But after the holidays, he will be moving into his own home, part of a village of tiny houses built for veterans on Sonoma County-owned land in north Santa Rosa.

"I won't just be surviving anymore - it's about living," said Lawrence, who plans to serve as a paid peer counselor for other veterans.

The 250-square-foot homes, which were developed by Community Housing Sonoma County on a previously vacant parcel on Russell Avenue, will be move-in ready by Jan. 15, said Paula Cook, the nonprofit's executive director.

Local leaders and a large group of supporters gathered Friday for the dedication of the newly christened John Zane-Michael Wolff Veterans Village, which will house 14 homeless veterans. The village is named in honor of Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane's late father, a World War II veteran, and the contractor for the project, an Iraq War veteran.

The energy-efficient development is located on a leased 30,000-square-foot piece of the county's large administrative campus. It features furnished units that are fully accessible to people with disabilities, as well as a garden, common spaces and on-site peer counselors.

Officials hope the project could serve as a model for housing the homeless veteran population, which topped 200 in the county's annual census.

"This is a new concept, and yet we've all been talking about it for a long time," said Zane, a longtime advocate of the project who represents the area where the village is located. "It's certainly taken a lot of faith, and I was often reminded of my dad's Semper Fi faithfulness."

Supervisors first discussed the idea in 2015 and chose Community Housing Sonoma County as the developer in June 2017. Supervisors approved a three-year lease and a $1.8 million loan for the project, which was delayed after a change in location and increased costs after last October's fires, Cook said.

The price tag rose $700,000 amid higher costs for materials and services, and the nonprofit is still seeking $200,000 to close the gap, Cook said.

She lauded the myriad donations and volunteer efforts from a wide swath of the community, including Wolff, who has waived costs and helped secure labor and material contributions.

"I'm exceedingly proud of the Herculean effort it has taken to make this village - no matter how short the timeline, or how expensive the concrete or how bad the weather," she said.

The village, situated within the city limits, was the first multifamily development to undergo a streamlined process for temporary housing approved earlier this year, said David Guhin, Santa Rosa's planning and economic development director. The structures could be relocated and re-imagined as single-family homes on a new site after two years.

The new residents will use housing vouchers issued through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and will pay ?30 percent of their income toward rent. Each resident will be assigned a licensed social worker for ongoing support.

The project provides much-needed resources at a time when about 40 veterans have housing vouchers but can't find a place to live in the area because of a lack of affordable housing, officials said.

For Wolff, who served for 14 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, the project is a labor of love.

"It gives veterans something to be proud of," he said. "In a group home environment, which is usually what brings them off the street, you don't usually have a place to call your own. This is a wonderful way to give them a piece of their pride back."

Community Housing Sonoma County also completed the six-apartment Benton Veterans Village this year, and will wrap up a 14-bed veterans home in Sebastopol in April, Cook said.

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Tiny home village for homeless vets nears completion

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Moving into a home of his own will mark the start of a new chapter for U.S. Navy veteran Jeffrey Lawrence. The 48-year-old Cloverdale native said he became homeless in 2012 after a divorce and a struggle with substance abuse. He's now living in the Hearn House, a transitional housing facility for veterans, and has been sober for eight months.

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Fairbanks Rescue Mission, 723 27th Ave, Fairbanks, AK 99701, United States

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Fairbanks Rescue Mission, 723 27th Ave, Fairbanks, AK 99701, United States

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Fairbanks Rescue Mission, 723 27th Ave, Fairbanks, AK 99701, United States

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volunteer built

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"Alaska is Calling and I Must Go" reads the back of the official OCU mission team t-shirts.

On June 1, a team of 12 students, faculty and family members flew from Oklahoma City to Fairbanks, Alaska for a week-long mission trip to build tiny homes as transitional housing for the homeless of central Alaska.

The work project, known as the Joshua Community Project, is a tiny house enclave started by Habitat for Humanity and now under the direction of the Fairbanks Rescue Mission.

When completed, it will have 10 double-occupancy cabins, a community building, an office and a shower house.

The team from OCU worked for five days to add locally sourced wood siding to two of the three tiny houses currently under construction on the site.

Members of the team also helped clean and organize the Habitat resale shop that is also on the property.

During the week, the missioners toured the rescue mission's main outreach center and met with members of the staff and residents of the shelter.

The trip was book-ended with several cultural experiences which included a riverboat ride, a dip in the Chena Hot Springs and a bus tour of Denali National Park.

This is the university's sixth VIM mission trip in the last four years under the leadership of Dr. Charles Neff, vice-president for church relations. Based on the success of these trips, the university already has plans to return to Belize in January and to Puerto Rico next summer.

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OCU team builds tiny homes for the homeless

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"Alaska is Calling and I Must Go" reads the back of the official OCU mission team t-shirts. On June 1, a team of 12 students, faculty and family members flew from Oklahoma City to Fairbanks, Alaska for a week-long mission trip to build tiny homes as transitional housing for the homeless of central Alaska.

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https://edenvillageusa.org/phoenix-az/about/

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Arizona non-profit | Raising funds to build tiny home community

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As many know our homeless population is continuing to grow taking up hundreds of thousands of dollars and time from our city and county resources, let alone the visuals of visitors and residents seeing our community allowing the suffering of our own. It is our job to fix it and it will benefit us both spiritually and financially.

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https://abc11.com/veterans-fayetteville-off-road-veteran-outreach-homeless/12379857/
New Beginnings
900,000 total cost - fundraising - federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act money- pro bono construction services  currently short 300,000
160 square feet
20 prefabricated tiny homes
development challenges
social work involvement
5 acres southwest of 19th Street and School Avenue -  bought land from the university for $72,571 in 2018
Kevin Fitzpatrick, director of the University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute, Board Member
code of conduct - rules shaped by residents for behaviour
transitional

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New program using tiny homes to help Fayetteville homeless veterans

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Off-Road Veteran Outreach acquired three tiny houses earlier this year through donations that will be completely remodeled to assist veterans.

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Bobtail Rd, Maskwacis, AB T0C 1N0, Canada

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Bobtail Rd, Maskwacis, AB T0C 1N0, Canada

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Bobtail Rd, Maskwacis, AB T0C 1N0, Canada

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Montana First Nation

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After six months of hard work, eleven students officially graduated from a tiny home building program on the Montana First Nation south of Edmonton.

The adults headed back to school in the fall of 2018.

"We started on September 4th, classroom work," student Phillip Cardinal explained. "So we have to get our tickets and do our training so we can actually build on construction sites first."

He and his classmates earned tickets in carpentry, electrical and plumbing over the course of the winter.
READ MORE: Canada's first veterans village of tiny homes goes into production
"Initiatives like this also build up the workforce, the skills for the people who have all been involved," said program facilitator Chevi Rabbit.

Earning the tickets was a big deal to the students, many of whom were unemployed before enrolling in the tiny home program.

"They mean a whole lot - they'll help me out in the working world," said Garrett Cattleman. "I am going to put out my applications and see where that takes me."

The project was funded by Montana First Nation - which is part of the Maskwacis community - as well as Trade Winds for Success and the Alberta government.

Through the winter, the group worked outside five days a week - right in the middle of the community.

"You can see the construction happening and a lot of the band members were excited. It's something new and it's exciting," Rabbit said.
READ MORE: Big idea for small living takes hold in Edmonton
The students built the houses to the lock and key stage. The roofs are on and the walls are up.

When the houses are finished, they will feature solar panels from Green Arrow Corporation. Then they'll be given to people in need through housing applications.

"It makes me really happy inside to know that somebody who doesn't have a home right now is going to get a home," Cattleman said.

Last year, Louis Bull First Nation built three tiny homes and in the end, one was given to one of the students.

"There is a housing crisis for first nations communities right across Canada. This could be a potential solution if bands want," Rabbit said.

The tiny homes are meant for single people. The hands on program also motivated its students to pursue their dreams.
READ MORE: Perks of buying a 'shoebox', and tips for maximizing space
"I really want to achieve what I want to do. I've had some up and downs along the way, but mostly for these kids," Cardinal said while motioning to the child on his lap. "I want to set a better example for these kids."

The grads were allowed to challenge a test at NAIT to use their newfound skills to skip their first year of classes there, should they decide to further their education in construction.

For those that want to immediately enter the workforce, the hope is that the graduating students will be hired by Montana First Nation to finish construction.

"I'm excited for them. I'm glad they're moving on and I'm really proud of Montana for bringing this project to life," said the program's executive director, Vicki Wetchie.

"I hope others get more exciting construction in their communities."

READ MORE: Tiny houses growing in popularity, but looking for a place to call home in Canada

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'Tiny homes' provide shelter, job skills for central Alberta First Nation

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After six months of hard work, eleven students officially graduated from a tiny home building program on the Montana First Nation south of Edmonton. The adults headed back to school in the fall of 2018. "We started on September 4th, classroom work," student Phillip Cardinal explained.

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Piikani Nation
Partnership with education

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Joyce Little Mustache is an elder of the Piikani Nation and, after a life of hardships, is finally a homeowner, thanks to a tiny home pilot project.

"I've lived here, there and everywhere until I retired and said it's time to settle down," she said.

"It's going to be really nice to say that I have a home."

Working her entire life to support her children and those around her, Little Mustache is a survivor of all that life has thrown at her. She's also an optimist.

"I'm a survivor... Working hard, being a single parent and not having the things I needed, but I tried hard and worked hard all my life."

Little Mustache is just one of many Canadians experiencing first-hand the current housing crisis, but now, after eight weeks of development, she's looking forward to unpacking her boxes.

"This has really been a dream that I still can't believe and I'll probably scream when I move in."

Funded by the federal government, this pilot project is the first of its kind in Alberta.

It aims to tackle not only housing issues but also offer work experience to Indigenous youths, helping them overcome future employment barriers.

"In listening to the communities, we found these disconnects," said Jay Noel from Your Choice Homes Inc. "One of them was in practical art credits in high school and another one was in the lack of single adult living.

"With First Nation communities, being able to bring housing and education together was such an opportunity for First Nation youth."

Working with sponsors and students to build these tiny homes from the ground up, the Piikani Nation hopes this pilot project will continue to provide future opportunities and homes for so many that need them.

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Pilot project tackling First Nation housing crisis one tiny home at a time

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Joyce Little Mustache is an elder of the Piikani Nation and, after a life of hardships, is finally a homeowner, thanks to a tiny home pilot project. "I've lived here, there and everywhere until I retired and said it's time to settle down," she said.

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Nuxalk Nation

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Each home is solar powered and energy efficient.

Wayne Schooner is 67 years old and he cannot remember the last time he had his own home.

"I lived in Vancouver for a long time and I slept on the streets there and under bridges," he shared. "When I came back home I had no place to go here either, so I mostly slept in my car."

Schooner is one of four residents chosen to move into the Nuxalk Nation's new "tiny homes." The housing, designed specifically for homeless men, is a pilot project of the Nation and is intended to address some of the housing gaps facing the community.

Schooner is one of six children and was born and raised in Bella Coola. He struggled with alcoholism for years but has now been sober for over a decade.

"I started drinking when I was 14 and I was in and out of jail for years," he said. "Then I quit for 20 years but I started again, and I was back in and out of jail. I quit again and that was a long time ago."

Schooner mostly slept in his car and said it didn't bother him too much, but he did get cold.

"I gave a kidney to my mom years ago," he explained. "She was born with only one kidney and it started to fail, so I gave her mine. Ever since then I get cold more easily."

Residents who noticed him sleeping in his car in the extreme cold informed the Nation and he was initially moved into the motel units before getting into the home last week.

"I like it here," he said. "Last fall when I was sleeping in my car I woke up to a big grizzly bear staring in my window. That gave me a scare."

Schooner is just one of many demographics facing challenges with housing.

Jalissa Moody, former Assistant Asset Manager for the Nuxalk Nation, said that when she started her position with the Nation it was obvious to her that a different approach was required.

Moody has since moved on to a government internship in Victoria, but she was on hand to witness the moving in process this week.

"Back in 2016 I was taking all of the housing applications and I could see there was a wide range of applicants, but I could also see that our housing stock was geared more towards families," she explained. "Of course this makes sense, but it doesn't take into account all of our people, and as Nuxalk people we want to provide for our entire community."
Read more: Nuxalk micro-housing project aims to tackle homelessness
Moody, who completed her education in Interior Design and sustainable building, had been researching the concept of tiny homes and decided to approach Chief Councillor Wally Webber with the idea. He encouraged her to pursue it, so she took the concept to Bert Snow with Health and Wellness to get an idea of the gaps in the housing needs.

"We learned fairly quickly that there was not a lot of housing options for single men, especially those who are struggling with trauma and addiction," she said. "Many of these men were homeless in the sense that they didn't have a permanent roof over their heads, they were sleeping in their cars, they were couch surfing."

Snow got to work determining who should qualify as a tenant and how the program would work while Moody pitched the idea to Council. They were in full support.

"We focused on the building and Health and Wellness focused on the tenants," said Moody. "We wanted to make the buildings to the same standard as our current homes, as well as ensure they met building codes and incorporated sustainable energy."

Moody enlisted the help of Hakai Energy Solutions, who outfitted the homes with solar panels on the roofs. The homes are technically "off-grid," generating most of their power from the solar panels, but are hooked into the grid to ensure they aren't left in the cold if the panels aren't enough on cloudy days.

With the successful launch of the carpentry program through Nuxalk College, they were also built by local hands. This combination has produced a product that is designed, built, and now occupied by members of the Nation.

"I also sourced most of the interior fixtures locally, as we wanted to showcase that we are able to do things here," she explained. "It was important to us to keep the money circulating here."

Snow and his team at Health and Wellness said they hit the ground to determine how many people were homeless, as it isn't always an obvious problem.

"Some people were sleeping outside, in their cars or in vacant buildings," said Snow. "Some were couch surfing, and this number was quite high at times."

Snow and his team, which included consultant Brad Dennis and intervention and prevention coordinator Peter Snow, began to develop a mission statement and a plan for the future residents.

To be considered for tenancy, applicants for the tiny homes must have been experiencing homelessness for six to 12 months, be a single male 19 years or older, and a member of the Nuxalk Nation. Sobriety is not required, but tenants must be demonstrate readiness to commitment to healing.

The concept of healing is grounded in the mission statement of the tiny homes and reads "solidly standing as we make our path good." This new program is being delivered in partnership with Nuxalk College, and is designed to be flexible and supportive with facets that include education, upgrading, art, traditional medicine, life coaching and meals.

"We are approaching our tenants as people who have experienced what is known as 'complex trauma,'"explained Lawrence Northeast, an adult education coordinator at Nuxalk College. "Our tenants need to feel as they belong at the college, so we have designed a program that meets their individual needs. Our goal is to meet them where they're at each day."

Snow said that research suggests that many homeless individuals are very disconnected from society, and he's hopeful having a home base will encourage them to reconnect.

"Initially we had very strict rules but we decided not to enforce them," he explained. "We're hoping the healing plan can help them to comfortably adjust them into society again."

The homes are completely self-contained units, a total of 338 square feet, and are designed with high ceilings and an open concept, giving the impression of a much larger space. The middle unit houses shared laundry facilities and a central power system to maximize space. Located conveniently across from the college, each home also features panoramic mountain views.

Moody, who created the design herself and has since received requests for the blueprint from as far away as New Mexico, is hopeful that the concept of the tiny homes can be adapted and changed to meet the future housing needs.

"There simply isn't enough housing, and this is a problem everywhere," said Moody. "It's not unique to our Nation or this community."

This isn't the first time a B.C. community has employed tiny homes to address the homelessness situation. The Yale First Nation, located just outside Hope, B.C., announced its plans last spring to build tiny homes for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents of the community.
Read more: B.C. First Nation builds tiny homes amid housing crisis
The idea is to build a dozen 280-square-foot homes on the Nation's land about 10 minutes outside of Hope along Highway 7, for rent at affordable rates to any members of the community.

Part of an economic development project of the Yale First Nation, the project also aims for zero hydro usage through the use of solar panels and energy efficient building materials.

Housing manager Crystal Sedore said that the project is designed to benefit the Nation in the long run: the profits gained from what is left over from mortgage payments will go back to the Nation's economic development reserves.

However, the rent will be very affordable, with a person on social assistance only expected to pay about $375 per month, and that rent is tied to the Nation's mortgage at Royal Bank, so they are always guaranteed to make their payments.

Sedore said that there are many Indigenous people who are not connected to a Nation or band - non-status First Nations, people from Nations in other parts of Canada or even the United States, Inuit or Metis - who could benefit from the tiny home project.

"These are the sort of people who fall through the cracks when it comes to Aboriginal services, and so by us providing housing off-reserve, we are offering all of those people options as well," Sedore said. "Off-reserve projects like this will allow us to gather them in."

Sedore said that their first units, which are factory made in Squamish, are expected to arrive this April and they are already full. Not all of them are tiny homes, they also ordered apartments, triplexes and duplexes. Preference was given first to Yale Nation members, then to First Nations on and off-reserve, then to the community at large. They filled up immediately.

"The tiny homes are a great option for some people, especially single people or youth aging out of care," said Sedore. "But they don't work for everyone. We had 40 people signed up for 12 units and I could easily build another 20 and have them full tomorrow."

Chief Councilor Wally Webber said the Nation is still exploring the concept of more tiny homes and alternative models of housing, especially for sectors of the population that are vulnerable, such as the elderly.

Webber said it's a relief to have members such as Schooner off the streets.

"I was terrified we were going to find someone frozen outside or in their car," he said. "I'm really pleased with the outcome of this project so far and I'm looking forward to seeing it in action."

The tiny homes "team" of Chief Councilor Wally Webber, former Assistant Asset Manager Jalissa Moody, wellness consultant Brad Dennis, and Health and Wellness Coordinator Bert Snow.

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First residents move into Nuxalk Nation's tiny homes - Coast Mountain News

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Each home is solar powered and energy efficient. Wayne Schooner is 67 years old and he cannot remember the last time he had his own home. "I lived in Vancouver for a long time and I slept on the streets there and under bridges," he shared.

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620 Bayview Dr, Burnt Church, NB E9G 2A8, Canada

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620 Bayview Dr, Burnt Church, NB E9G 2A8, Canada

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620 Bayview Dr, Burnt Church, NB E9G 2A8, Canada

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SASKATOON -- A Mi'kmaw uncle-nephew duo are making tiny homes in the hopes of addressing crowded Indigenous households and the lack of adequate Indigenous housing in New Brunswick and communities across Canada.

Lloyd Augustine and his nephew Robert, who run Piligan Construction in Esgenoôpetitj First Nations in New Brunswick, say their homes could alleviate the huge burden caused by a housing shortage in the region, especially on reserves.

"There's a lot of people that are in trailers and some people who slept in tents," Robert Augustine told CTVNews.ca during a video interview on Thursday, noting it takes just eight to 12 weeks to build the homes. And potentially two to three weeks, with a larger crew and no material delays.

Their first home -- which costs only $64,000 -- is about three metres by eight metres, or 10 feet by 26 feet. It boasts hardwood floors, one bedroom, a sleeping loft, a combined kitchen and living room, and a full-size bathroom.

But the price of the homes could be as low as $50,000, depending on the size and what people asked for.

LONGSTANDING HOUSING ISSUE IN CANADA

Augustine explained as many as three families can live in one Indigenous household, or that families will usually have one extra relative living there too. The builders said their homes will make it easier for those people to move out, while offering "comfort" for young couples or single people.

Overcrowding in Indigenous communities is a longstanding issue in this country. In 2019, a United Nations report on housing for Indigenous populations found one in four people living on reserves were doing so in overcrowded conditions.

This troubling figure is approximately seven times that of non-Indigenous people across Canada.

But this is in line with other statistics. According to a 2016 Statistics Canada report, approximately two out of five Indigenous people in lived in crowded households. The same report also found just over one in ten lived in housing with one less bedroom than the residents required.

Between the two of them, the Augustines have decades of home-building experience. And because the housing crisis hasn't gotten better, the Robert notes, "if no one else is doing it, like why, not us at that point?"

Although the duo have the will to build right now, there are several issues complicating things.

Lloyd Augustine notes that the pandemic has hampered their attempts to scale up their operation and house more people, as supplies have been slow to get out to them.

The second-biggest issue is money for potential homebuyers.

"There are quite a few people that want houses but, right now at the moment, they come in, money is very hard to come by," he explained, saying families getting a mortgage or loan to pay for it was proving difficult.

So they're hoping banks make "it easier for people to be able to purchase buildings like this."

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A Mi'kmaw uncle-nephew duo make tiny homes in the hopes of addressing crowded Indigenous households in New Brunswick but also across Canada. (Robert and Lloyd Augustine)

Exterior shot of tiny home built by Mi'kmaw uncle-nephew duo. (Piligan Construction)

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Mi'kmaw tiny-home builders hoping to tackle Indigenous housing crisis

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SASKATOON -- A Mi'kmaw uncle-nephew duo are making tiny homes in the hopes of addressing crowded Indigenous households and the lack of adequate Indigenous housing in New Brunswick and communities across Canada. Lloyd Augustine and his nephew Robert, who run Piligan Construction in Esgenoôpetitj First Nations in New Brunswick, say their homes could alleviate the huge burden caused by a housing shortage in the region, especially on reserves.

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1004 Landooz Road, Prince George, BC V2K 5S3, Canada

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1004 Landooz Road, Prince George, BC V2K 5S3, Canada

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1004 Landooz Road, Prince George, BC V2K 5S3, Canada

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mortgage of less than $300.00 a month

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Four men on the Nak'azdli Whut'en reserve northwest of Prince George have just moved into the first homes they've ever owned as part of a pilot project that's using "tiny houses" to combat homelessness.

"We didn't know what to expect. We just thought, you know, they don't deserve to be treated like this," said Aileen Prince, the capital housing and lands manager for Nak'azdli. "They deserve to be treated like anyone else."

Prince came up with the idea after seeing TV shows about tiny houses. Compact homes have surged in popularity for people looking at affordable - and sometimes portable - living options.

"I thought, you know, that's something that really could alleviate some of the problems we're having with housing people on the reserve," she said.

'Couldn't get the grin off his face'

Working with the band office, land was set aside for a pilot project, and Prince started taking applications from people within the community to move into the tiny homes. They had to be over the age of 45, and had to be people who had never owned a home or rental property before.

Four men were chosen, and they moved into their new homes last Friday. Prince said it's already made an obvious difference to their lives. She described the reaction of the first man to receive keys.

"He was just super excited, he just couldn't get the grin off his face," she said. "I've seen the transition that's happened with him. His place is spotless, he won't let people smoke in his house, he's very much changed what he does during the day.

He's got some books now that he's started to read and I just thought, wow, this is amazing - Aileen Prince

"Before it was just, basically, you know, looking for something to drink. And now he feels like he's got a place to just relax. And he was telling one of our other workers that he's got some books now that he's started to read and I just thought, 'wow, this is amazing.'"

Each "tiny house" is just 320 square feet, but they all have a washroom, a washing machine and a dryer.

The band holds the mortgages to the homes, but the men pay the costs and utilities every month. Prince estimates it will take about five years for the band to recoup the initial costs.

In the meantime, she's already looking towards building the next set of houses for people in the community who want their own tiny home.

"Everybody deserves to have a home."
To hear the full story click on the audio labeled 'Nak'azdli First Nation builds tiny houses to combat homelessness' For more stories from northern British Columbia follow Daybreak North on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to the podcast.

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Nak'azdli First Nation builds 'tiny houses' for homeless men | CBC News

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Four men on the Nak'azdli Whut'en reserve northwest of Prince George have just moved into the first homes they've ever owned as part of a pilot project that's using "tiny houses" to combat homelessness. "We didn't know what to expect.

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There's a new push to encourage the use of tiny-homes to tackle homelessness in the area. What does this latest push look like and is the city close to considering it? David Zura explains.

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Calls for tiny-homes to help homeless - NEWS 1130

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There's a new push to encourage the use of tiny-homes to tackle homelessness in the area. What does this latest push look like and is the city close to considering it? David Zura explains.

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homeless people building their own shelters

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Around the world there are tiny home TV shows, tiny home blogs, even tiny home coffee table books (I have one!). Toronto even had a tiny home housing committee led by longtime activist Bonnie Briggs.

My first experience with tiny homes was at Toronto's Tent City, the famous waterfront encampment that lasted from 1999 to 2002. Homeless people began to build shacks, realizing that winter on the shores of Lake Ontario would be easier to survive within four walls compared to a tent. Eventually there were over 50 structures.

I was part of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee that leveraged support for the Tent City residents: insulation and roofing work parties, delivery of generators and fuel, installation of woodstoves, funding for portable toilets and tiny prefab homes. The first tiny homes to arrive were from DuraKit, a Canadian company that provided housing in disaster zones and the Far North. We even brought in a duplex DuraKit.

Then John van Nostrand, an architect and urban planner, who has worked internationally on emergency housing, began working with us on a housing upgrade for the entire 140-person community. Working with some of the residents, his team built a prototype called ProHome. We took the completed house on a flatbed truck to a conference and held an open house to show city leaders how this could be a solution to the housing and shelter crisis. The house was then delivered to Tent City for a couple to live in.

This whole story, including the brutal eviction of the encampment is captured in the documentary Shelter from the Storm by Michael Connelly.

The goal of the Tent City advocacy and building of the tiny ProHome was to win housing and, upon the eviction, that is exactly what happened. The residents won a pilot rent supplement program.

In the absence of a substantial national housing program, homelessness and housing precarity have worsened, forcing people to struggle for how to help. I regularly receive well -intentioned -- albeit bizarre -- suggestions for how people can survive living outside. They range from coats that can turn into sleeping bags, to coffin-like structures a person can crawl into. Today, I was sent information on a German prototype called a "nest" that is solar-powered. From the outside it looks like a space-age cryosleep chamber.

Usually, I respond politely, explaining to people that it is actually real housing that we need and it would be more helpful if they put their energies into advocacy efforts for a national housing program. I argue that people need safe shelter and housing and we shouldn't let governments off the hook.

Then COVID-19 hit and homeless people faced even worse dangers than the weather.

Encampments grew, encampments were evicted. Over and over Toronto's shelter-referral line was unable to find shelter spots for people because the system was full. A legal coalition had to take the city to court to achieve two-metre physical distancing in shelters (still not fully achieved). Mask wearing in shelters was only mandated September 4.

Toronto opened numerous shelters and hotels for physical distancing yet continue to operate congregate settings, in one case with only plexiglass dividers. Other municipalities have used hockey arenas and convention centres for mass shelter, neither of which provide protection from an airborne virus.

So, when I heard about Khaleel Seivwright, who was building tiny, structurally sound shelters for homeless people and delivering them one by one, without fanfare, to people living outside, I did a complete 360 in my thinking on tiny shelters.

In September Khaleel created a GoFundMe page that today has surpassed $210,000.

"Hi, my name is Khaleel Seivwright, I am a carpenter and I've raised money to rent a garage and buy materials for building durable insulated tiny shelters for homeless people across Toronto who might be living outside this winter. These tiny shelters are designed to be mainly heated by body heat and because of their size and the insulation value of the walls, ceiling and floor just body heat alone should be enough to keep the shelter around 16 degrees Celsius in -20 temperatures. The structures are insulated, water resistant and equipped with a fire/carbon monoxide detector. They have been well received by those who stay in them."

In a recent video, people living in Toronto tiny shelters describe warmth, safety, ability to lock their door both inside and outside, and better sleep. They say the tiny shelters have saved their life.

Khaleel has worked collaboratively with the front-line Encampment Support Network in Toronto and with homeless people. There is enormous public support for his efforts. The city is not pleased. Not only has the city removed five of his tiny shelters, when the shelters are removed, they are reportedly incinerated. The city has also threatened to ticket Khaleel for the cost of their removal. Yet he continues to build and has started a petition asking the city to not remove the structures.

Similar to the Tent City's years of advocacy, Khaleel's efforts are about bringing in disaster relief to save lives and demand governments step up.

It's not rocket science. As he notes:

"These shelters are not meant to be a permanent solution.

These shelters are not a replacement for the city's shelter system. They are an alternative for individuals who a) are unable to obtain a shelter bed, b) do not feel safe staying in a shelter (due to COVID or other reasons), or c) have been kicked out of a shelter/hotel and have no other options.

These shelters are needed to protect people from freezing to death during the Canadian winter.

We are not standing in the way of the City's work towards alternatives that will accommodate all citizens of Toronto."

Important words. When governments fail, we must hold them accountable.
Cathy Crowe is a street nurse, author and filmmaker who works nationally and locally on health and social justice issues. Image credit: Image provided by Jeff Bierk

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Tiny homes and tiny shelters are pop-up responses to government failures

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Around the world there are tiny home TV shows, tiny home blogs, even tiny home coffee table books (I have one!). Toronto even had a tiny home housing committee led by longtime activist Bonnie Briggs. My first experience with tiny homes was at Toronto's Tent City, the famous waterfront encampment that lasted from 1999 to 2002.

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Two Ontario cabinet ministers paid a visit and brought their chequebook to Kingston on Tuesday morning to support housing for homeless veterans.

Steve Clark, the Brockville-area Conservative MPP and minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Lisa MacLeod, minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, pledged $200,000 for the Home for Heroes Foundation to contribute to building 25 tiny homes for military veterans who experience homelessness.

Two villages are being constructed in Edmonton and Calgary, with Kingston to be the first Ontario site.

The province is also dedicating one acre of land on the Kingston Provincial Campus to build the units and turn the area into a veterans village.

The campus, located on King Street West, currently includes Providence Care Hospital, the Beechgrove Complex and the closed Rockwood Asylum on the property.

Doug Ford's government is working with the City of Kingston and the Homes for Heroes Foundation on the project.

Tiny homes in the veterans village will be constructed from prefabricated modular housing. Each unit will provide a transitional home for one veteran and will be self-contained with a kitchen, living room, bathroom and sleeping area. The houses will be 300 square feet in size.

As well, according to the Homes for Heroes website, all homes face inward to facilitate peer-to-peer support, and each village incorporates a central resource centre, counselling office, community garden and other amenities.

"We, as Canadians, owe an immense debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve in uniform," Clark said at the announcement at the Memorial Wall adjacent to the Kingston Memorial Centre.

"The Homes for Heroes Foundation has a proven track record with villages completed or underway in both Calgary and Edmonton. We are so excited to have this important project come home to Ontario."

Clark said the provincial government is investing almost $1 billion in 1920-21 for sustaining, repairing and growing community housing, part of its Community Housing Renewal Strategy.

"This collaboration with Homes for Heroes and the City of Kingston is quite remarkable, and it's part of a broader sweep of initiatives that our government has announced or will be announcing to support Canada's veterans, particularly those who reside in Ontario," MacLeod said.

Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson called the announcement an exciting moment for the city of Kingston.

"I cannot tell you how proud we are to be the first community in Ontario that will host a Home for Heroes project," he said. "I think it speaks to our proud military history here in Kingston.

"We are facing a housing crunch in Kingston, and (it's important) to find those new ways to find affordable housing solutions for people in our city."

As of now, the city is not investing in the project but helping in other ways.

"Right now, the commitment of the city is to help facilitate the project, to work with the province and Home for Heroes to make sure the project can get built," Paterson said.

Cameron Duggan, director of fund development for Homes for Heroes, said the group's goal is to end homelessness for Canadian veterans.

He said approximately 5,000 Canadian veterans are experiencing homelessness, and the group is trying to bring them back into mainstream society.

"Working together as a team, we will get our homeless veterans off the street, we will help them deal with the devils that haunt them, we will restore their pride, dignity and self-respect," Duggan said.

"This project is a great example of what we can achieve together," Clark said. "Our veterans were there for us when we needed them and now it's time for us to be there for them."

"We're doing so by building villages of tiny homes in cities across this country," Duggan said. "The design of these homes is quite deliberate. It's based on input we've received from veterans."

Kingston and the Islands MPP Ian Arthur was invited to the announcement but did not speak.
imacalpine@postmedia.com twitter.com/IanMacAlpine

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Tiny homes to be built in Kingston for homeless veterans

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Two Ontario cabinet ministers paid a visit and brought their chequebook to Kingston on Tuesday morning to support housing for homeless veterans. Steve Clark, the Brockville-area Conservative MPP and minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Lisa MacLeod, minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, pledged $200,000 for the Home for Heroes Foundation to contribute to building 25 tiny homes for military veterans who experience homelessness.

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Tiny homes move in: Officials tour temporary emergency pilot shelter

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ONTARIO - The moment has arrived - the first two tiny houses for the pilot emergency homeless shelter project in Ontario have been delivered and set up on site.

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Suite 900, 2424 – 4 Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2S 2T4

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Your gift to Homes For Heroes will enable us to continue to build, equip and operate more tiny home villages for veterans across Canada. Each village will provide 5,000 to 9,000 bed-nights per year for veterans experiencing homelessness. With your support, veterans who are in crisis will have the breathing space they need to embark on the path to stability and self-sufficiency.

Homes For Heroes Foundation is a registered charity (#727544892RR0001). Tax receipts are issued for all donations over $20.

Online donations are accepted below through our PayPal portal, or through Canada Helps. Canada Helps will issue a tax receipt automatically and PayPal donations will receive a tax receipt within three weeks of receiving the donation.

Donations made by cheque can be sent to:

Homes for Heroes Foundation

Suite 900, 2424 - 4 Street SW
Calgary, AB T2S 2T4

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Your gift to Homes For Heroes will enable us to continue to build, equip and operate more tiny home villages for veterans across Canada. Each village will provide 5,000 to 9,000 bed-nights per year for veterans experiencing homelessness. With your support, veterans who are in crisis will have the breathing space they need to embark on the path to stability and self-sufficiency.

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22 downtown
Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre selects
Indigenous Project

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A new project will hopefully go a tiny way to helping solve the homeless crisis in Winnipeg.

The Village Project is a 22-unit, communal village aiming to create immediate, safe and private housing for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Winnipeg.

The project was developed after consultation with people living in encampments as well as Indigenous leaders.

Planning is being led by Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre and is supported by six other Indigenous organizations, including End Homelessness Winnipeg, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs' Eagle Urban Transition Centre, Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, Aboriginal Health & Wellness Centre, Ka Ni Kanichihk and Thunderbird House.

"I came here in '83, and the change in terms of people homeless or living on the street has just been quite incredible, you know, huge numbers now," Co-Chair of Thunderbird House Board, Damon Johnston said. "And the majority of those, close to 70 per cent are indigenous persons: First Nations, Metis, or Inuit."

The Village is set to take over a vacant lot currently in between Thunderbird House and Salvation Army's Centre of Hope on Main Street.

"All the units are modular recycled shipping containers, they're being produced by Bison Container Homes, so they're all shipping containers that are converted into fully functioning homes," End Homelessness Winnipeg's Housing Supply Manager, Lissie Rappaport, said.

"The physical materials are recycled shipping containers, but they're going to look like real houses. They have siding, they have a front door, a window, a little porch."

1/ The Village Project is an innovative and creative community driven step we can take toward supporting Indigenous individuals who are at risk of homelessness.

Led by @Ma_Mawi , The Village Project is also supported by six other Indigenous organizations including @EHW_Wpg .

- Councillor Vivian Santos (@Vivs4PDW) February 19, 2021

Rappaport noted the project already has City of Winnipeg zoning approval to build, and capital funding has been secured through the federal government's Reaching Home strategy through End Homelessness Winnipeg.

However, funding for operational costs still needs to be secured.

"We've applied to the federal Rapid Housing Initiative for this funding," Rappaport said. "If that's successful we'll be able to start construction right away, so right in February or March. If the timeline goes well we're aiming to have the first tenants living there by June, with the full project completed by November of this year."

Memorial of hearts along Assiniboine River trail honours Manitoba lives lost to COVID-19

The Village will also house a communal area where residents can cook together, hang out and receive culturally relevant supports and healing opportunities on-site.

"The focus is really on providing people cultural supports, as well as help support well-being life skills to be able to move forward on their healing journey," Rappaport said.

"It's low-barrier housing, so focus with a harm reduction model. People can be wherever they are using drugs or alcohol. And that's really filling a gap for housing needs here in Winnipeg right now."

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New project in Winnipeg aims to provide tiny homes to help shelter homeless

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A new project will hopefully go a tiny way to helping solve the homeless crisis in Winnipeg. The Village Project is a 22-unit, communal village aiming to create immediate, safe and private housing for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Winnipeg. The project was developed after consultation with people living in encampments as well as Indigenous leaders.

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When homeless people in Duncan, B.C., were asked two years ago how they'd like to live, they said a small cluster of simple sleeping cabins would be great. That way, they'd have a few others around for some protection but not so many that it would become a chaotic, unregulated camp.

So that's what affordable housing advocate John Horn decided he would push to create as Duncan's homelessness crisis accelerated last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Friday, 12 people moved into the first cluster of little sleeping cabins that Mr. Horn had built on a downtown city parking lot. The eight-foot-by-eight-foot rooms have a window, a door, a plug, an electric baseboard heater and a bed. Another two clusters are in progress. Cost: a little less than $7,000 a cabin.

That idea is the latest advance in the effort to tackle homelessness, as even temporary modular housing, seen a few years ago as a revolutionary new approach, is now viewed as too expensive and too slow to build given the disaster unfolding in many cities.

The cabin mini-village success is particularly satisfying for Mr. Horn, a former social planner in Nanaimo, B.C., who was hired by the Cowichan Housing Association a year and a half ago to come up with creative new ideas for tackling housing problems.

"I very much believe in direct action," Mr. Horn said. He'd become very tired of the status quo approach to homelessness, which was "telling a guy he has to live in the forest for three years until we can find a real apartment for him."

The cabin villages need rules and oversight, he insists, or they won't work. It costs almost $52,000 a month for security guards every night. But it ensures that everyone feels safe. There are common washrooms provided and meals are brought in, as they have been for the area's tent camps of homeless people since spring.

Duncan's cabins for homeless people are a first for a B.C. city, but they won't be the last as cities, philanthropic organizations, businesses and private individuals are increasingly looking for ways to provide homeless people with options besides sleeping outside or in crowded shelters, while waiting years for a subsidized apartment.

The emergence of near-permanent outdoor camps of homeless people in B.C. cities from Nanaimo to Maple Ridge to Kelowna, as well as Vancouver and Victoria, is driving a new desperation to find more solutions. The pandemic has only heightened that.

Another factor likely to spur more interest: New B.C. Housing Minister David Eby supports the concept.

"The thing I like about these proposals is they seem to be originating in places other than the usual. That tells me there's broad community support ... for being creative and trying different things," he said.

Mr. Eby opposed this kind of housing option when he was an advocate in the Downtown Eastside, he admitted.

"I've been critical, way back. My fear was that the lowest cost, lowest standard that people could get away with for housing would be seen as a total solution. Happily, I think that fear hasn't materialized. These projects are broadly seen as transitional and supportive of a larger response."

BC Housing, the subsidized housing agency which is part of his ministry, is providing a small amount of money for a different kind of temporary-house project in Victoria.

There, a private developer and building company called Aryze has offered to do the design and permitting work to transform shipping containers into 30 housing units.

"It's just not acceptable to live in a tent for a year because you have no other place to go. In Canada, people should not be living like that," said Ryan Goodman, an owner and general manager at Aryze, a small firm dominated by a lot of younger people who felt like they needed to do something.

People in Victoria have already donated almost $300,000 of the estimated $500,000 needed for the $17,000-per-unit building cost and the additional site work.

City council has given the company permission to apply for a temporary permit to allow the homes to go onto a city parking lot until September, 2022. That lot is next to a park that had a camp of homeless people who were flooded out recently.

"It's unprecedented that the community is building homes for each other," said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, who also praised Mr. Eby for being "incredibly supportive."

One city that would seem like the likeliest candidate to explore such ideas is Vancouver.

But the concept of tiny-home villages, as they're being called by local advocates, is running into roadblocks from city staff, despite support from many Vancouver councillors, as well as builders, academics and people who work among the homeless in the Downtown Eastside.

After motions by COPE Councillor Jean Swanson and Green Party Councillor Pete Fry last fall asking for tiny-home villages as one emergency option, staff issued a report cautioning they'd cost a minimum $40,000 each to build and another $40,000 a unit for site prep. They'd have to comply with the building code and there is no available space for them anywhere in the city, the report found, among other concerns.

That's been met with frustration by those who are outraged that hundreds of people are sleeping on concrete sidewalks and wet grass this winter in the city.

Mr. Fry said it's bewildering the city is not doing more.

"As far as I'm concerned, there's tonnes of opportunities. We are hearing from people with churches saying, 'We have a parking lot, toilets and showers, kitchens. They can go here.'"

Sarah Blyth is equally perplexed and outraged.

"How desperate do we need to get about this?" asked Ms. Blyth, who runs the overdose prevention site in the Downtown Eastside. She spent last Thursday night handing out mats and blankets to people on the sidewalk along Hastings Street, where many were lighting small fires in buckets to keep warm.

So some are taking matters into their own hands.

Bryn Davidson, whose company Lanefab focuses on custom passive homes and laneway houses, is building what he calls a "tiny townhouse" with prefab panels that comes in at 100 square feet - small enough to be exempt from normal building-code requirements because it's classified as a shed. (That was the approach in Duncan as well.) He's financing the $20,000 cost himself.

Ms. Blyth is planning to put Mr. Davidson's house on the prevention centre's outdoor site as soon as it's ready, whether the city likes it or not. She's got someone picked out to live in it.

That's Al Flett. On Friday morning, the 42-year-old was at the overdose prevention site as usual, warming up.

"A lot of time, I keep walking all night so I don't freeze. I sleep wherever I can during the day," said Mr. Flett, a part-Cree artist who is known in the area for his drawings and paintings on found things, skateboard decks and any paper or canvas he can find.

He last had a place to live a year ago, when he worked growing marijuana at a Richmond, B.C., farm. But that fell apart when the man in charge of the money stopped paying him, he said. He won't stay at the Strathcona Park encampment because he's worried about the violence there.

Last Friday morning, Mr. Flett didn't know where he would sleep that night. Or any other night after that for a long time. He hopes his little house arrives soon.
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B.C.'s tiny homes show big promise for homeless

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When homeless people in Duncan, B.C., were asked two years ago how they'd like to live, they said a small cluster of simple sleeping cabins would be great. That way, they'd have a few others around for some protection but not so many that it would become a chaotic, unregulated camp.

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Khaleel Seivwright built himself a wooden shanty while living on a West Coast commune. Then he started building similar lodgings for homeless people in Toronto to survive the winter.

Khaleel Seivwright has built about 100 tiny shelters for Toronto's homeless population. Credit... Ian Willms for The New York Times

TORONTO - On his way to work on a construction site, Khaleel Seivwright surveyed the growing number of tents lining an intercity highway and in parks with increasing discomfort. How would these people survive Toronto's damp, frigid winters, let alone the coronavirus, which had pushed so many out of overcrowded shelters?

He remembered the little shanty he had once built out of scrap wood while living on a commune in British Columbia.

So he hauled a new generator into his S.U.V., strapped $800 worth of wood onto the vehicle's roof and drove down into one of the city's ravines in the middle of the night to build another one: a wooden box - 7 feet 9 inches by 3 feet 9 inches - sealed with a vapor barrier and stuffed with enough insulation that, by his careful calculation, would keep it warm on nights when the thermometer dipped as low as minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

He put in one window for light, and attached smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Later, he taped a note to the side that read, "Anyone is welcome to stay here."

Since then, Mr. Seivwright (pronounced Seeve-right), 28, has built about 100 similar shelters with a crew of 40 volunteers and more than $200,000 in donations. He has hauled them to parks across Toronto where homeless encampments have slumped into place - jarring reminders of the pandemic's perversely uneven effects.

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The city's bureaucrats called them illegal and unsafe, and stapled trespass and eviction notices to many, informing their residents that the city had rented out hotel rooms for them. They served Mr. Seivwright with an injunction, ordering him to stop putting the structures on city-owned land.

But to the people who live in them, the shelters are a tiny room of one's own, providing a sanctuary from disease and danger. And they are a slap in the face to lawmakers, a powerful reminder of Canada's failure to build social housing for the past 25 years.

"This man is a hero," said Domenico Saxida, who has lived among a cluster of tiny shelters in a downtown park since before the coronavirus stalked the city. "He made the Canadian government look stupid. One man on his own dime and time."

On a recent Sunday, more than 200 people gathered in the park to protest the eviction notices and to hear from Mr. Seivwright, who is so deeply private that his social media accounts have long been hidden behind aliases. But he is propelled by what he considers a moral imperative, as well as the writings of his favorite philosophers.

"It's becoming more and more unaffordable for people to live here," he told a cheering crowd. "It's like we're all standing in a line, waiting to get pushed out. And everyone that's staying outside here is just at the end of that line."

Mr. Seivwright has experienced homelessness - although more as an experiment in self-reliance than the result of misfortune. In 2017, he pitched a tent in a large park on Burnaby Lake, 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, while working on a construction site. Over five months he learned what it was like to wake up shivering, after snow had collapsed the nylon ceiling, and to fall asleep worried about being attacked by coyotes, he said.

He was inspired by Henry David Thoreau's famous experiment, documented in the 1854 book "Walden," of confronting "only the essential facts of life," by moving to a log cabinin the woods.

"I was very interested in these ideas of what you really need to live off," Mr. Seivwright said. "After doing that, wow, I feel less terrified about losing a place or not knowing where I'll sleep."

He also knows from personal experience the importance of subsidized housing. He grew up in a low-income co-op on the edge of suburban Toronto, the middle child of two working-class immigrants from Jamaica. His mother is a school custodian, and his father a master electrician who started bringing Mr. Seivwright and his younger brother, Ali, to work sites when they were 12 and 11.

After high school, Mr. Seivwright found a job framing houses. His boss motivated him with a promise: With every new skill he mastered, he'd get a $1 raise. Within a few years, he learned enough to run his own crew.

Six years ago, he joined a small community in northern British Columbia, where he learned how to slaughter chickens, identify mushrooms, build a greenhouse and manage a composting toilet. He woke up early most mornings to walk barefoot in the forest so he could feel "intimately connected with nature." When he ran out of money, he got jobs in town.

"It felt like how I wanted to live," he said. "It was entirely up to me. I didn't have to fall into line."

His friends and siblings describe Mr. Seivwright as a passionate autodidact. He is not someone who dabbles - he plunges.

In high school, he took up piano and practiced for hours a day, until he was good enough to start a band and tour bars. He became "obsessed" with chess and played so much that he now offers lessons online. He taught himself to paint, and got good enough to sell his works at subway stations.

Recently, he's been reflecting on Friedrich Nietzsche's idea of the eternal return - that people might be excited at the concept of reliving their lives repeatedly, "Groundhog Day" style. "I like his wonder at life, the sense of being satisfied by the worst things in your life and making a wonderful journey out of everything you do," he said, adding that the idea had been part of his inspiration to build the shelters.

So while few of his friends foresaw his latest pursuit, they weren't surprised by it.

After his second tiny shelter, Mr. Seivwrightdedicated himself seven days a week to the project, throwing himself feverishly into the work in a rented warehouse. The initiative hit a nerve - not just within the city bureaucracy, but with regular citizens, many of whom were cooped up at home amid the pandemic without cluttered agendas to distract them from the poverty laid bare across their local park.

Mr. Seivwright joined forces with a group of musicians and artists called the Encampment Support Network, dropping off food and supplies to people living in camps that now number 75, with up to 400 inhabitants, the government estimates.

He started a petition urging the city not to remove his shelters from the parks - an effort that to date has received almost 100,000 signatures. Many others followed, penned by health care providers, musicians, church groups, lawyers, academics, artists and authors.

"I've become the face of something that is a lot bigger than me," he said.

So far, the city bureaucracy and politicians have not been swayed. Fires in the shelters, one of which proved fatal, have stiffened their opposition. They have the law on their side: In October, an Ontario judge ruled that the encampments impaired the use of park spaces and that the city had the right to remove them.

"I cannot accept having people in parks is the best that our country and city can do," said Ana Bailão, Toronto's deputy mayor, adding that the city had 2,040 units of affordable housing under construction and thousands more approved - a sizable increase from previous years, but hardly a notch in the city's 80,000-plus waiting list for social housing.

Mr. Seivwright worries that once the parks are empty, the urgent conversation about affordable housing will be quickly forgotten. He has hired lawyers to fight the city's injunction on constitutional grounds.

While he waits for the court date, he has stopped making shelters. He has also delayed his plans to move to the country's east coast to build his own community, with even fewer rules and more time to play music, make art and read.

"It's worth it," he said. "I had a funny thought: Life is long. It's not so terrible to have to wait a little bit."

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The Carpenter Who Built Tiny Homes for Toronto's Homeless

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Khaleel Seivwright built himself a wooden shanty while living on a West Coast commune. Then he started building similar lodgings for homeless people in Toronto to survive the winter. TORONTO - On his way to work on a construction site, Khaleel Seivwright surveyed the growing number of tents lining an intercity highway and in parks with increasing discomfort.

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For Women
Good Shepard & Social Housing and Research Council

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Is 400 square feet a lot of space?

It's a good sized one-bedroom apartment for somebody. - Alan Whittle, Good Shepherd

It's two-and-a-half times the size of a parking space. It's the size of an average two-car garage. It's one-tenth the size of a tennis court, or as big as nine king size beds pushed together.

But for two Hamilton agencies, it's the magic size for a partial solution to Hamilton's affordable housing crisis, particularly when it comes to homeless women.

Good Shepherd and the Social Housing and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC) are planning an as-yet-unnamed project to offer up duplexes of tiny units for women in danger of homelessness.

The project will cash in on another affordable housing concept - the use of laneway homes. The pair will build on a Clarence Street property accessible only by laneway.

It's a new concept for Hamilton, said Renee Wetselaar, an SPRC housing advocate. But the tiny home concept has caught fire with affordable housing advocates across the U.S.

Research shows smaller units are more cost effective than high-rise buildings. When paired with Hamilton's multiple laneway properties, it's a unique local fix.

"It's not a lot of space," said Alan Whittle of Good Shepherd, on the little home concept. "But it's a good sized one-bedroom apartment for somebody."

The project has been in the works for about seven years, but the logistics have been challenging.

First, the group had to secure the property, which is city land that once housed a number of single-family homes. Those homes were destroyed by fire.

I'm a laneway house supporter. I have been since day one. - Coun . Jason Farr

Then, there were laneway-related challenges, namely how emergency vehicles would get back there to service the property. As of this month, the city has given the all clear on the emergency service front. Now, they look for sponsors and donors. Wetselaar envisions brightly coloured structures of donated steel with innovative designs that make the most of the space.

Other examples

There are many examples from the U.S. In Madison, Wisc., for example, Occupy Madison built a tiny village with houses as small as 99 square feet. Its inhabitants are formerly homeless.

In Los Angeles, humanitarian Elvis Summers made headlines for building little houses and giving them to homeless people, including people in the infamous Skid Row district. The city started impounding them, telling Summers they couldn't exist on city land. Like other organizations, Summers's My Tiny House Project LA relies on donations.

One of the earliest examples of the concept is Second Wind Cottages in Newfield, NY, where mechanic Carmen Guidi built a dozen 320-square-foot cottages for homeless men. Each costs $12,000 US.

Guidi started his project when he noticed chronically homeless people in his community, so he used a plot of his own land and started building. The units were only small, he said, because he couldn't afford to make them bigger. Now he's inundated with calls from groups wanting to do the same.

"The president of Switzerland toured here," he said.

At Guidi's complex, people pay 20 per cent of their employment income for rent. The units have full bathrooms and kitchens, and tenants use a washer and dryer in a common building - a tiny one, of course.

The size doesn't restrict the tenants, he said. "It's no problem at all."

In Hamilton, Wetselaar and Whittle see this as a demonstration project. If it works, they'll do it somewhere else too.

And a solution is needed. Housing prices increased about 20 per cent in Hamilton and Burlington last year. Hamilton's largest social housing provider, CityHousing Hamilton, is cash strapped, and there are 818 kilometres of laneways in Hamilton. Most are owned by the city.

Jason Farr, Ward 2 councillor, is on board with the current project. And he's open to seeing more.

"I'm a laneway house supporter," he said. "I have been since day one."

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Tiny house wave comes to Hamilton with new affordable housing project | CBC News

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Is 400 square feet a lot of space? It's a good sized one-bedroom apartment for somebody. - Alan Whittle, Good Shepherd It's two-and-a-half times the size of a parking space. It's the size of an average two-car garage. It's one-tenth the size of a tennis court, or as big as nine king size beds pushed together.

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Six Nations

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Six Nations of the Grand River is home to eight new tiny houses.

The project will provide affordable housing for community members, according to a media release from Six Nations.

Indigenous Services Canada and Six Nations Housing teamed up with local contractors to build the tiny homes. They were officially opened following a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, and people began to move in.

"We are proud to have partnered with Six Nations on this project that will improve living conditions, reduce overcrowding and provide safe and healthy homes for residents of the community," said Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, in the release.

Elected-chief Mark Hill also shared his congratulations.

"We have seen a greater demand for single, low occupancy units, and the tiny homes initiative will provide the community with greater flexibility in addressing its housing needs - including concerns of overcrowding - as we continue to follow public health recommendations during COVID-19."

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8 tiny homes erected on Six Nations territory to provide affordable housing | CBC News

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Six Nations of the Grand River is home to eight new tiny houses. The project will provide affordable housing for community members, according to a media release from Six Nations. Indigenous Services Canada and Six Nations Housing teamed up with local contractors to build the tiny homes.

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tiny home for youth that is sited on a homeowner's residential site
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/tiny-homes-perth-lanark-county-1.5218183

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Two-hundred square feet may sound small, but advocates for homeless youth are hoping it will be big enough to fix Lanark County's affordable housing problem.

Cornerstone Landing - a non-profit that provides assistance for homeless youth - and Algonquin College have teamed up to build tiny homes to house youth on private property.

The prototype model will be unveiled Wednesday in Perth, Ont. It's the only one so far, but there are plans to build more if bylaws are changed to allow them and enough volunteers sign up to house them on their property.

Social agencies in Lanark County say a lack of affordable housing for young people is a significant problem.

"One thing that breaks my heart every winter is when you get that phone call at nine o'clock at night for a 17-year-old who is sleeping outside, and you have no place to offer them," said the chair of Cornerstone's board, Terrilee Kelford.

We've slept on streets, in alleys, on park slides, and been scared out of our minds about what's going to happen the next day with no shelter. It's something we don't want our children to have to live through. - Lea Maurice, business owner and fundraiser

Kelford has seen youth living in trailers with no running water, as well as sleeping in parks, under bridges, in cars and in tents. She said youth in Lanark have three options: emergency housing in a hotel, a bus ride to the nearest shelter in an urban centre, or the streets.

But after today, a tiny house could be a fourth option.

Lea Maurice and her husband experienced homelessness in their youth and remember the harsh conditions.

That past motivated Maurice, a business owner, to help organize fundraisers for the project.

"We've slept on streets, in alleys, on park slides, and been scared out of our minds about what's going to happen the next day with no shelter. It's something we don't want our children to have to live through," she said.

"Knowing you've got somewhere to go is amazing. I'd live in [a tiny house] myself, if I didn't have a million kids."

The $85,000 tiny home includes a washer and dryer, a bathroom, kitchen and living room. It has a composting toilet and connects to the homeowner's water and hydro.

Organizers are looking for volunteers willing to host future tiny houses on their property. The eight-by-24 homes are on wheels and can be moved to a willing landowner's preferred spot.

Cornerstone has found one volunteer so far who has committed to make room for a tiny home.

The next obstacle is municipal bylaws that don't currently allow these structures on private property.

Tay Valley was the first township in Lanark to update its bylaws and support tiny homes. Perth - another town within the County of Lanark - is working on updating its legislation to allow them.

"Tiny homes are the way of the future, and I am confident that we will have a bylaw in place to accommodate tiny homes this fall," said Perth Mayor John Fenik.

Building blocks

Cornerstone is planning to hit the road with the prototype tiny home, making stops across across eastern Ontario to encourage municipalities that don't allow them to update their bylaws.

"Just today I got a call about a 24-year-old homeless person. And it kills me because we're not quiteready," Kelford said.

"But I'm determined that this will be up and running by fall. I don't want another winter where I am getting phone calls about young people sleeping outside."

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Tiny homes for homeless youth | CBC News

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Two-hundred square feet may sound small, but advocates for homeless youth are hoping it will be big enough to fix Lanark County's affordable housing problem. Cornerstone Landing - a non-profit that provides assistance for homeless youth - and Algonquin College have teamed up to build tiny homes to house youth on private property.

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Housing and walking with people toward restored lives.

ABOUT US

The mission of Second Wind is to house and walk with people toward restored lives. We are a not-for-profit organization that provides homes and hope!

Homelessness is a serious and complex problem in the United States. Factors contributing to homelessness go deep - well beyond the surface of an individual's current situation. Second Wind is based on a community first approach to ending homelessness.

Our work starts with building relationships with those who have become "invisible people", people for whom our community has given up hope. This is accomplished through our Homeless Crisis Alleviation work and our supportive housing cottage site. Research shows that "poverty" comes not only from a lack of resources, but also a lack of relationships. Therefore we focuses on building relationships with those who most desperately need a friend. Over time, trust is built and we are able to assist those who desire a changed lifestyle.

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Housing and walking with people toward restored lives. ABOUT US The mission of Second Wind is to house and walk with people toward restored lives. We are a not-for-profit organization that provides homes and hope! Homelessness is a serious and complex problem in the United States.