Fighting homelessness, one tiny roof at a time
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Want to make big moves in the fight against homelessness? Think small.
Community groups across the country are turning the popular micro-housing movement from trendy housing to permanent home for those who haven't had one in a long time.
In August, Portland, Oregon, announced plans to move forward with a plan by Techdwell co-founder Tim Cornell to build a village of tiny houses with a kitchen, bathroom and convertible couch/bed specifically for low-income residents. The homes would cost about $12,000 total to build and $250 to $350 to rent each month.
But it's not just in Portland, which is the hotbed of tiny housing activity: Organizations in Greensboro, North Carolina; Newfield, New York; Madison, Wisconsin; and Austin, Texas are working on similar projects that will put hundreds of small roofs over people's heads.
“Housing will never stop homelessness, but community will”
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Advocates for people experiencing homelessness are taking care to build communities of micro-homes rather than merely finding land to build individual units in separate locations. They want to foster the sense of community that goes along with having a home.
"A lot of our people come out of a community, so they like that," said Carmen Guidi, founder and executive director of the Newfield, N.Y.-based Second Wind Cottages. "But they also like their individual spaces. That's why we decided to do individual homes instead of apartment complexes."
In fact, some groups believe the solution for chronically homeless individuals -- defined by the National Alliance to End Homelessness as people who have "experienced homelessness for a year or longer" or have had "at least four episodes of homelessness in the last three years" and have a disability -- has more to do with their community than their actual home.
"People think that it's about micro-housing, but it's not," said Alan Graham, founder, CEO and president of the Austin-Texas-based organization Mobile Loaves and Fishes. "Housing will never solve homelessness, but community will. It's not a transactional thing. It's a relational thing."
Mobile Loaves and Fishes, which started 16 years ago as an outreach ministry group dedicated to feeding Austin's homeless population using catering trucks, broke ground on its Community First! Village of micro-homes, tents and trailers in August.
The 27-acre Community First! Village has a permaculture farm, a regular organic farm, chickens, rabbits, goats, honeybees, an aquaponic fish operation and a geo-dome to grow fruits and vegetables that don't normally grow in the local climate. It also has an outdoor movie theater, medical facility, art house, and sanctuary and hospitality center. Within six to eight months, Mobile Loaves and Fishes expects to have a vintage Airstream trailer bed-and-breakfast where missionaries can stay and volunteer on-site.
According to Graham, the extended community of people in Austin has rallied around the idea of what he calls "an RV park on steroids."
"I think everybody that's ever walked and seen our vision is pretty overwhelmingly in support of that vision," he said. "For those people who haven't seen that vision, there's a struggle based on the stereotype of how they view the homeless population. But over time, we've had a positive impact on how people view that stereotype in Austin ... it's gaining a lot of legs naturally."
Mobile Loaves and Fishes hopes its first Community First! residents will be able to move in by March or April of 2015. Eventually, it will be able to house between 250 and 300 people.
The canvas-sided tent cottage
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Residents of Community First! Village will be required to pay rent, which will start at $120 per month, including trash collection, electricity and access to laundry, kitchen and restroom facilities.
For between $120 and $180, renters can live in one of these canvas-sided cottages, which are approximately 12 feet by 12 feet with a single bed, small table, chair, ceiling light, wall socket and front deck.
The “stick-built” micro-home
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
For between $210 and $250, renters can live in one of these stick-built micro-homes, which can be constructed using materials from an EZ Log DIY building kit in just six hours. They're approximately 12 feet by 12 feet with a 6-foot front deck and are designed with the environment in mind, maximizing air flow and reducing the need for electricity.
"They aren't built like a Lincoln Log-type thing," Graham said. "They're much more sophisticated than that."
The fifth-wheel RV
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
For $400 a month, renters can live in one of these fifth-wheel RVs, which are fully self-contained with city water, a kitchen equipped with cooking supplies and a refrigerator, a bathroom, a bedroom with fresh linens, a living room and storage space.
“Tiny Victories” contest finalists
Photo courtesy of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Just this month, Community First! announced the winners of its "Tiny Victories" contest, which was held in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects in Austin. They challenged architects to design housing options for their site that were affordable, efficient, safe and innovative. Out of 60 total entries, four were chosen.
At this point, Mobile Loaves and Fishes isn't certain which of these designs will be built.
The pictured design by Michael Smith and Mick Kennedy, called "Casa Pequeña," would have a fold-down bed, hearth area, front porch, dog run and sliding door.