Suzanne’s Mom’s Blog has featured a number of stories about both homelessness and tiny houses, so I was intrigued when a high school friend linked to this story on Facebook. It’s about helping homeless people build their own tiny houses.
Jen Hayden wrote at Daily Kos, “Out of the Occupy Madison protests a cool idea was hatched: Building 98-square-foot homes for those without. The homes have a bed, kitchen, bathroom, storage and propane heat. Future residents take part in building the homes. [According to WMTV,]
The homes cost just $3,000 to construct, most of it funded by community donations. A revolving crew of volunteers provided the labor, including Betty Ybarra. Previously homeless, she now resides in the home she helped construct. “It’s exciting. I’ve never even owned my own house,” Ybarra told WMTV
“After getting shuffled around the city while they figured out the best place to build the village, they finally settled on a location and it officially opened this week. [Reports Jennifer Kliese at WKOW,]
‘Rather than taking people from the streets and putting them in a building, we thought we could work together to create our own structures,’ says Luca Clemente, with Occupy. ‘We don’t give houses to homeless people, we enable people to build their own houses to create their own futures.’When complete, there will be nine homes in the village made from reclaimed and recycled materials. Organizers hope to add a garden, tree orchard and chickens.”
More here.
What an amazing approach–I’d love to see a follow-up in a couple years to see how it turns out.
I have brother in Madison and also a childhood friend. I’ll ask them to keep tabs.