Are Tiny Homes the Solution to Solve Homelessness?

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As most have seen the last several years, homelessness continues to be a persistent issue across the entire country. No matter what state or city you are in, or if you are in downtown or the suburbs, homelessness has spread to all parts of society. I recall several years ago in the town I grew up in, I don't remember a time I would ever see homeless camps or individuals in the community. Today I see this almost every time I drive through town or go to a store. I used to think this was a big city problem, but I was completely wrong about ignoring a problem I thought would never come to where I live. 

With homelessness being one of the top issues in our communities today, new solutions are being attempted to help those in need. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there were approximately 421,392 people experiencing homelessness and that number has increased 6 percent since 2017 (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2023). Far too many people have no place to call home and we have been moving in the wrong direction for several years now. A fairly new solution of building tiny homes for people to have a place to live could reverse this negative trend we are seeing. 

Tiny homes are alternative shelters that provide people with a private space and stability and security. Basic services are also provided for those who live in the alternative shelters, such as hygiene and basic infrastructure (electricity, water, internet, public safety). Currently, the city of Portland and Multnomah County help fund and operate seven safe rest villages, which are communities of tiny homes. An eighth safe rest village is currently in development (Portland.gov, 2023). 

How well have these tiny homes worked so far? Since this potential solution has been tried, there is positive indicators that tiny homes can help reduce the amount of people without any form of housing. An immediate benefit of these alternative shelters is they can be built quickly and reduce the timeline for the lack of housing everyone area faces. Data from and article from Bloomberg shows that there are some benefits to them. From their research, they describe the benefits of tiny homes being a good form of transitional housing and providing stability to help people eventually move into more permanent housing (Bloomberg, 2023). From research done by Portland State University, 86% of respondents who lived in safe rest villages were satisfied with their shelter (Knowlton, 2022). 

While this may not be the big solution to homelessness, it plays an important role in helping those in need. By providing stability and a sense of security and belonging, it's an important step in getting people into permanent housing. If you would like to learn more about safe rest villages and how to inform city leaders, please follow the link below.

https://www.pdx.edu/homelessness/village


Written by: Justin Harmon

References

State of Homelessness: 2023 edition. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2023, May 23). https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness/

Safe rest villages program overview. Portland.gov. (2023). https://www.portland.gov/safe-rest-villages/safe-rest-villages-program-overview

Wallace, H. (2023, August 15). Inside Portland’s experiment with tiny homes as homeless shelters. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08-15/inside-portland-s-experiment-with-tiny-homes-as-homeless-shelters

Knowlton, S. (2022, April 5). New PSU study examines effectiveness of tiny pod villages as alternative shelter for people experiencing homelessness. New PSU study examines effectiveness of tiny pod villages as alternative shelter for people experiencing homelessness | Portland State University. https://www.pdx.edu/news/new-psu-study-examines-effectiveness-tiny-pod-villages-alternative-shelter-people-experiencing

Image Source

Wallace, H. (2023, August 15). Inside Portland’s experiment with tiny homes as homeless shelters. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08-15/inside-portland-s-experiment-with-tiny-homes-as-homeless-shelters

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