It looks like a tiny house village for the homeless isn’t such a crazy idea. Here in Sacramento a collaboration between several homeless advocacy groups had come together to make it happen. The group includes Loaves & Fishes, Safe Ground Sacramento, Francis House, Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee, and Volunteers of America.
The proposed new Safe Ground site will be called “Eden” or “a Stepping Stone to Home” and will be located behind the Union Gospel Mission and Bannon Street shelters. The community will consist of 60 Tuff Sheds setup for overnight stays. A central bathroom and kitchen facility will also be provided.
I’m extremely hopeful that this will be a success and serve as another example that the real value of a home doesn’t necessarily increase as the size of a home increases. Shouldn’t the true value of a home be measured by the happiness and security it brings instead of its size and cost?
For more information about this project start at Sacramento Loaves & Fishes website. Thanks for the tip Julia!
Great idea! I hope they let them have some autonomy and that this doesn’t become another shelter like situation though. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think a lot of the folks that camp instead of going to the overflow shelters etc. want to feel in control of their own space and have more freedom. It’s more empowering for people to have ownership. I’m not sure how that would work but I’m positive they will be able to come up with some solutions that will work for all. I think this whole process needs to be looked at more organically and as needs come up reshape the idea and let it grow. For now it’s a safe roof over their heads and definitely a beginning. A REALLY good beginning. BRAVO all involved!
From someone who slept outdoors as a teen and in alleys as late as 30, this looks like a step in the right direction: but like Mr. Janzen alludes: will they be forced to pack up and scramble by a certain hour of the dawn? Will the dwellings be slowly brought down to the level of something that …gets hosed out daily with a power-sprayer?
I pray that this succeeds well and spreads if so; and that some ownership can be extended in the future- even if it’s $5 a week (clearly making that up) and you check in your key when you leave the grounds to ensure commitment.
My issue these days is being a tweener: I’ve been homeless and it’s only by the financial support of loved ones that I am able to keep a roof over my head. My almost chip on the shoulder query is this:
When will the governments local or whoever let us purchase and assemble our small homes, our villages? I’m scraping so hard now to save for a tiny home, even though I feel despair in the process because – where would I put myself? I can’t buy a Tortoise and a Truck. And land. Etc.
Sorry if it seems like I’m hijacking a homeless thread, but I’m too old to go back to shelters and the grind of the system, and I want that place in-between $99,000 in Seattle (hot!) and an emergency shelter: above.
Hey – thanks for listening and thank you for all that you folks do. You do bring hope!
Thanks LB. I agree with you completely that it would be better to treat this as something different than a normal shelter. I also realize that it would be more difficult to manage and get city approval but giving folks an opportunity to have a place of their own is so filled with benefits it seems worth it. In fact that’s why I posted this latest article on Dignity Village: https://tinyhousedesign.com/2009/10/10/dignity-village-a-success-story/