these tiny home villages in california aim to address homelessness

THE DIGNITYMOVES COST AROUND $30,000 PER ROOM

DignityMoves, a nonprofit organization focused on building supporting housing communities for homelessness, announced the launch of their inaugural communities in san francisco, santa barbara and rohnert park. costing around $30,000 per room and built in just months, the communities aim to provide hundreds of dignified, private rooms for people sleeping in tents, encampments and on the streets of california.

‘while more permanent housing is critical for alleviating the housing crisis, building sufficient permanent housing is expensive and will take years, while our unhoused neighbors need help now,’ said elizabeth funk, founder and executive chairman of DignityMoves. ‘our streets cannot be the waiting room. the longer people are on the streets, trauma takes a serious toll, making future successful outcomes much more challenging. DignityMoves provides rapid, cost-effective ways to bring people indoors immediately to avoid perpetuating that trauma and begin rebuilding their lives.’

BUILT IN COLLABORATION WITH GENSLER AND BOSS TINY HOUSE

built in collaboration with boss homes and gensler, the communities are being built on vacant land or parking lots, using california’s emergency building codes. the homes are made of prefabricated panel systems that can be assembled quickly on site. they have an estimated useful life of over 20 years and can easily relocate once the project is over.

sharon lai, executive director of dignitymoves said, ‘this portability allows communities to scale interim housing up and down as the situation requires with underutilized vacant land that might only be available for a limited time.’

the temporary communities feature shared bathrooms and shower facilities, case manager offices, dining buildings, computer labs, clinics, and community spaces. the entire budget for a room, including site work and all support systems, is approximately $30,000. each room is private and has a door that locks, offering a sense of security that will make clients more willing to engage in critical supportive services needed to address the barriers to stable housing.

one resident shared, ‘when I was living in my tent, I felt like I was constantly in survival mode, worried about my safety and where I might find my next meal. now I am warm and dry and can lock my door at night.’

the individual rooms can be locked