Tiny homes have been a hot topic lately, but they’re not just trendy as a dream home or the latest in luxury living. Organizations and governments around the country are harnessing tiny homes’ big potential to help house the Americans that most need an affordable place to live.
Writing for Shelterforce in 2019, Sharon Lee, the executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), reported on progress made in LIHI’s efforts to use tiny house villages as transitional housing for residents of Seattle experiencing homelessness.
According to Lee, Seattle/King County’s January 2018 Point-in-Time Count found 12,112 men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. The unsheltered population in Seattle alone accounted for 71% of this county-wide statistic. So when a new Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan, took office, she made it a priority to rapidly rehouse the city’s unsheltered population in an innovative, cost-effective way.
LIHI, one of Seattle’s partners in the rapid rehousing effort, says that each tiny home costs just a couple thousand dollars to build. A village itself needs just four to six months to be constructed and an annual budget between $60,000 to $500,000 to provide anywhere from 20 to 70 people with housing and access to supportive services that will help them get back into a stable and more permanent home.
The Seattle Human Services Department notes that the villages have been incredibly cost effective. Spending on tiny house villages makes up less than 3% of the City of Seattle’s homeless response investments, yet the initiative accounts for almost 13% of all city-supported shelters.
City officials also observe that while many people they find living on the streets, such as couples and families, usually won’t agree to move into a temporary homeless shelter, they will agree to move into the city’s tiny house villages. While the city’s shelters typically house men and women separately, Seattle’s tiny homes allow for families to find housing together.
While Sharon Lee states that LIHI’s collaboration with the City of Seattle is meant to provide the unsheltered with a bridge to permanent housing, a nonprofit here in the heart of Texas has developed a permanent community of tiny houses (and RV homes) for Austin’s chronically homeless population.
Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF) began in 1998 as a social outreach ministry that used food trucks to travel the city and provide food, clothing, and other much-needed items to Austinites in need. After years of serving and speaking with their neighbors in need, MLF came to understand that one of the major causes of homelessness is a catastrophic loss of family. Alan Graham, founder and CEO of MLF, put the nonprofit’s stance on the issue into these words: “This is a human issue that requires a human response.”
With this in mind, MLF built Community First! Village in an effort to provide Texans coming out of chronic homelessness with affordable, permanent housing while also surrounding them with a support system that will help them use their individual talents to support themselves.
Because it is our mission to meet the housing needs of moderate to extremely low-income Texans, TSAHC has been working to help alleviate the needs of Texas’ unsheltered residents.
In 2019 alone, TSAHC sponsored Texas Homeless Network’s statewide Texas Conference on Ending Homelessness and partnered with LISC San Antonio to host a Permanent Supportive Housing training meant to help developers navigate the process of creating PSH units.
Through the Texas Foundations Fund, TSAHC also provides local nonprofits with grant money needed to provide supportive housing services to Texans at risk of homelessness. To learn more about our TFF program, we recommend reading the previous blog entry found here.
On the House blog posts are meant to provide general information on various housing-related issues, research and programs. We are not liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the information provided by blog sources. Furthermore, this blog is not legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney.
Hello, My Name is Eva Chrisitan a am currently homeless and looking for a way to get a tiny home and take the right steps to get assistant. The weather is getting for bad for anyone to live on the streets. what lead me to this situation is domestic voilence, and lack of employment. I also had a miscarriage so time has been very hard for me in the last year. I need assistance or be lead another way to get assistance. Thanks for your time, have a blessed day
Hi Saquita,
You can start by volunteering with local homeless-serving organizations. Maybe become a member or advocate of Texas Homeless Network (THN) and support broader change through policy, education, and community action. You can always join the Point-in-Time Count, an annual census communities take to assess homelessness and allocate resources.
Whether you decide to volunteer, become an advocate or help count to provide crucial data, you could definitely make a difference.
Hi David,
Thank you for reaching out. You’re not alone. So many people are in a similar place, especially those living on a fixed income like social security. Tiny home communities can be a wonderful solution. Some counties offer support for seniors or individuals on fixed incomes, especially for mobile or manufactured homes. Look in HUD programs, USDA rural housing, or nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity.
Our programs are approved to purchase the property types below:
• New or existing detached single-family home
• New or existing condominium, townhouse, or unit in a PUD
• Existing 2, 3 or 4-unit property, provided that one of the units will be occupied by the borrower
• New or existing manufactured homes that meet HUD guidelines (doublewide or greater)
I am looking for whatever help I can get finding a permanent home. I live off my social security. I like the idea of living in a tiny home community and have have a few that I can afford with my 1200 dollar a month benefit. thank you
Hello Michael,
Thank you for contacting us.
Tiny homes could be considered several different types of property. Our programs are approved to purchase the property types below. Please speak with a Realtor to determine how the home is assessed based on the last appraisal or county tax rolls.
• New or existing detached single-family home
• New or existing condominium, townhouse, or unit in a PUD
• Existing 2, 3 or 4-unit property, provided that one of the units will be occupied by the borrower
• New or existing manufactured homes that meet HUD guidelines (doublewide or greater)
Hello, I’m trying to find financial support for First Time Buyer Programs.. I’m 66, Retired and collecting SSI monthly. My credit isn’t good because I’m starting over. I’m trying to purchase a Tiny House already set up on a permanent foundation. I would like to stay in the Montgomery County Texas area.
Thank You,
Michael
Hi I’m trying to find out how do I am sign up for the program to end homelessness. Thanks for your time
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Hello Eva,
I’m so sorry that you’re going through such a difficult time. Please know that you are not alone, and there are people and organizations in Texas who care and want to help.
You can call 2-1-1 (just dial 211) to connect with local shelters, food assistance, housing resources, and other support services in your area. If you are in immediate danger or need urgent help, please call 911.
I hope you’re able to reach out and receive the support you deserve. Please don’t give up. Help is available.