According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, there are around 578,424 people experiencing homelessness on any given night. The primary reason for homelessness, according the NAEH, is the scarcity of affordable housing.
In the past year, a tiny house movement has begun. You may be familiar with the show “Tiny House Nation,” a reality series about middle class families who move into one-room properties. Some do so in order to change their consumer lifestyles or to become more environmentally and economically friendly.
The movement and the show may seem cutesy and silly; however, one-room properties may be a potential solution to homelessness, as evidenced by their success in the Pacific Northwest, and recently in Madison, Wisconsin. A few examples of functioning tiny house villages are Dignity Village in Portland, Village of Hope in Fresno, Opportunity Village in Eugene, and Quixote Village in Olympia. According to Portland Alternative Dwellings, tiny houses cost between $15,000 and $85,000 with an average tiny house costing $23,000.
One of the newest tiny house villages opened in November of 2014 in Madison, Wisconsin. The project was organized by a coalition of the homeless and members of Occupy Madison when a camp housing 80 to 100 homeless people in the initial stages of the Occupy Movement in 2011 was evicted by the authorities the following year. The village, which was built legally on private property, has four residents so far, and there are plans to build six more homes in the spring as well as a community facility.
While the village in Madison is an example of a tiny house community built from scratch, some of these villages (such as Dignity Village) are reimagined tent cities which may date back as far as the Depression.
One valid critique of the tiny house movement is that homelessness can be caused by an array of issues — such as mental illness or addiction — all of which must be addressed. However, if tiny house villages can help get people off the streets who are homeless due to the lack of affordable housing, the remaining resources can be allocated to assist those who are homeless for other reasons. In other words, the tiny house movement will not solve the issue of homelessness in America, but it is the kind of innovation which represents progress towards the end goal.
Another sizable challenge faced by the tiny house movement is the high rent in many Western cities. It is no coincidence the villages have been most successful in Pacific Northwest states, which have more land. The movement will have the most success if cities sanction land to be used for this purpose.
The Occupy Movement has been criticized for its lack of concrete goals or means for achieving those goals. However, the tiny house village in Madison provides a forceful example of how shifting the focus to helping the needy rather than merely criticizing the privileged can improve the movement’s effectiveness immensely. Tiny house villages can empower the homeless to be in control of their housing in Madison. They not only took part in the building of the houses, but also had input in the design and color of their new homes.
Luca Clemente, a member of Occupy Madison, says, “Occupy Madison evolved into a group based on human solidarity — we don’t care if [you’re] Democrat or Republican. The point is do you want to come together to cooperate, to pool your resources, creativity and physical labor to make each other’s lives better.”
Although I have never experienced homelessness myself, I believe shelter, safety and privacy to be basic human rights. When a person loses his home, he may also lose a piece of his dignity. As the income gap in the United States continues to grow, it seems we either have to accept more homelessness or support housing projects that are affordable for those living in extreme poverty. The existence of tiny house villages will act as a preventative measure. When facing gentrification or surging rent, those living under the poverty line can invest in a one-room property rather than living in a shelter or on the streets. Although tiny houses may sound ridiculous, we should keep in mind that a movement towards sustainable, affordable, and minimally wasteful housing in a set in a positive direction, especially if it may help to ameliorate what can only be categorized as an inequality epidemic.
Mary Russo is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at m.russo@cavalierdaily.com.
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