Tiny Homes for the Homeless

LA's First Tiny Home Village to House Homeless LA's First Tiny Home Village to House Homeless | California Live | NBCLA Load video

What are tiny homes for the homeless?

A tiny home is an affordable option for housing the homeless. Tiny homes are typically 550 square feet or less. The average size for a tiny home in the U.S. is about 15 ft. wide and 15 ft. long. While the tiny home movement originated in the 70s as an affordable housing option for anyone willing to sacrifice the space, in 2013, the city of Austin, Texas employed the idea for the first time to combat homelessness. It is now often referred to in the homeless network as the tiny home solution.

Most homes have locking doors, heating, and air conditioning. A company called Pallet builds them. The homes usually have many windows to make the space feel less crowded. They come with a fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide monitor, smoke detector, and bed. Most beds fold so they can be stashed away when not in use.

Are these homes the best solution for homelessness?

The reason why these miniature dwellings serve well to take arms against the homelessness crisis is that they require very little land and capital per unit to house people. In addition, they can be built from non-traditional building materials like old scrap wood from deconstructed commercial pallets. Cutting-edge architects and even some handy do-it-yourselfers can build durable, safe, tiny homes for less than $4,000 apiece. Make that tiny house only 8 ft. by 8 ft. and you may be able to build it for $2,000 without labor. Depending on materials used and local laws and regulations, however, tiny homes can cost up to 60 Grand each.

The low cost and low utilization of space make tiny homes a more attractive option than many other solutions to homelessness. Temporary shelters cost a lot to build. They rely heavily upon government assistance to keep them up and running too. Low-income housing apartments also do the governmental budget some harm. Tiny homes, if built by pallets, can even be cheaper than shipping container homes. Shipping container homes are homes that are made out of old, donated shipping containers. While shipping container homes are an excellent second-best option to mini ones, getting enough shipping containers to house the current rising homeless population is challenging. Tiny homes, on the other hand, can be built on demand.

Where are tiny housing communities located?

They are currently 10 tiny home communities in the United States alone. For this list, I am greatly indebted to Curbed, where you can find out more information on each of them:

1. CASS Community Tiny Home in Detroit, Michigan
2. A Tiny Home for Good in Syracuse, New York
3. Infinity Village in Nashville, Tennessee
4. Othello Village in Seattle, Washington
5. My Tiny House Project LA in Los Angeles, California
6. Second Wind Cottages in Newfield, New York
7. The Cottages at Hickory Crossing in Dallas, Texas
8. Community First! Village in Austin, Texas
9. Quixote Communities in Olympia, Washington
10. Dignity Village in Portland, Oregon

Who qualifies for tiny homes for the homeless?

To qualify, an individual must meet a low-income requirement. In addition, some communities require that he or she pay a small fee for rent. The fee for rent is usually adjusted on a sliding scale based on income. This means an individual may need verifiable income. Lastly, one must be accepted through the application process.

How is it living in one?

Many residents of tiny homes report enjoying their homes and the community in which it lives. These communities not only offer a place for the homeless to rest their heads at night, but they also provide well-needed services to the population. Tiny homes offer case management services. Residents are often provided mental health and substance abuse treatment as well. In addition, they often offer peer mentorship and social and emotional support services. Individuals gain a sense of connection and camaraderie with the other members of the community while in them. These bite-sized community homes offer laundromats, meals, and daily entertaining activities as well.

What are the downsides of living in a tiny home?

While the community aspects of a tiny home appear to bear no downsides, the lack of space for living in one is a major drawback. As one member of the tiny home community in the video below put it, the lack of space "encourages you to get out of the house more:"

Building a village of one's own tiny homes

Tiny homes for the homeless can be funded entirely through donations. To build one in your community, you need only donations for furniture, land, and supplies. This means that even a regular Joe, a do-it-yourselfer that landed on this page by mistake could realistically start building an entire village of pint-sized homes for the homeless this week.

Meeting local and state planning regulations is the hard part. That can sometimes lead to migraines. Knowing exactly where you need to go to learn the information you need for building a tiny home community can side-step that headache though. A good place to find information about building regulations is in your town's city hall, mayor's office, or department of housing.

Summary

If you seriously want to make a difference in the lives of so many of the destitute, don't wait, just do it today. There are over 700 people on the streets dying of hypothermia each year! Figure out a way to reach people who are willing to donate, learn the laws and regulations for building miniature homes in your community, and act. Your contribution will not be forgotten.