Tacoma Tiny Home Village Aims To End Homelessness – Believing They "Will Be Able To House 26% Of The County's Chronically Homeless Population"

Homelessness in America is a huge problem that almost every large city in the nation has been grappling with for some time. Various remedies have been tried, including temporary shelters, more permanent housing and providing other social services.

In some cities, mandatory prerequisites were employed for homeless persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction or mental illness. For example, in Florida, counties are required to ensure that homeless persons with such problems receive mental health and addiction services while staying in designated shelters. Homeless shelters also require residents to abstain from drugs.

Other housing programs have been launched without mandatory prerequisites, but often with mixed results. The "Housing First" system, developed in the 1990s, is based on the philosophy that if you provide housing and necessities first, homeless persons can more successfully address their other problems.

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This program was implemented successfully in Houston and incorporated into the CARES Act, passed by Congress in 2020. This bill prevented any pandemic homeless aid "to require people experiencing homelessness to receive treatment or perform any other prerequisite activities as a condition for receiving shelter, housing or other services."

Now, an organization in Washington State called the "Tacoma Rescue Mission" is getting ready to break ground on a new 285-tiny home community on 90 acres of land in Spanaway, WA, to be called the "Good Neighbor Village." In addition to the tiny homes, there will be common buildings, an art room and a farm. The idea was modeled after the Community First! Village in Austin, TX.

All of the homes built will be "Tiny Homes," meaning small one-story homes no larger than 400 square feet. These will be permanent homes and not just temporary shelters. Residents will have jobs such as working on the village farm and must pay rent. On-site services for mental health and addiction treatment will be part of the community.

Duke Paulson, Executive Director of the Tacoma Rescue Mission, says this village should be able to house about 26% of the county's chronically homeless population. About one-quarter of the homeless who presently stay at the mission are over 60 years old. Paulson wants to specifically target the Senior population for the Tiny Homes because it is more difficult for Seniors to climb out of homelessness than for younger persons.

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Not everyone in the Spanaway community supported the idea of the Good Neighbor Village. One group, Spanaway Concerned Citizens, expressed concerns about the environmental impact and land use.

However, the Pierce County Hearing Examiner recently granted permission for the Tacoma Rescue Mission to begin to break ground as soon as October. The mission hopes to have residents moving in by early 2026.

If this program succeeds, other similar programs will surely follow. Homelessness is a severe problem in America and relatively inexpensive tiny homes could be one solution to removing unsanitary and dangerous encampments off the streets, as seen in several California cities. However, given the extensive needs and problems of the homeless population, the support services must be top-notch and readily available to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents in their new homes.

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