Faith in humanity is restored a bit when Los Angeles is the latest city to explore helping the homeless with tiny houses, which give a secure place to live while they work to get back on their feet.
Little yet impeccably framed houses in blue, white, yellow, and pink lined up in short rows, while geometric blocks of red, green and blue cover the black-top that isolates them. However, this new area in LA is much more than a colorful fashion statement, it’s a way to help house some of the city’s homeless population.
Lehrer Architects, a firm whose philosophy is ‘no throwaway spaces’, has divulged two energetic towns of tiny homes this year, utilizing space that would otherwise be ignored by other engineers for its micro-size, shape, or absence of foundation.
The Chandler Street Tiny Home Village opened in February, highlighting 39 pre-assembled ‘pallet shelters’ on an ungracefully shaped, leftover area. The Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village – fit for lodging 200 occupants in 103 one or two person units – continued in April with two additional towns under development in the city, and will offer 374 extra beds when completed.
“With the two bridge home facilities we already have, and with the two additional cabin villages we’re building right now, we will have enough capacity to shelter every single unhoused person who is currently living on a sidewalk in my district this year,” said Paul Krekorian, a member of the LA city council in the second district.
The two towns were built in around 13 and 15 weeks individually. The homes are intended to give speedy-to-develop, safe and sound ‘bridge’ cover on the way to permanent lodging. The residences don’t have private restrooms, but there are shared offices on location. The towns likewise incorporate space for pet playgrounds, secure storage, washing garments, and collective dining.
Stephen Smith, who moved from off the road and into one of the Chandler Street homes, explained to the WP what it’s like to live in one of these tiny homes.
“I see no upgrades I could make.” However, he made note that the town could do with some additional washrooms.
LA isn’t the only city involved with creating miniature homes as bridge housing either. Last year, an improvement of six such homes was sent off in Cambridge, England, where in the shadows of the popular college many people are sleeping unpleasantly. Plans are likewise brewing to drop pre-assembled tiny houses into restricted spaces in Bristol, England, in hopes to provide truly necessary reasonable housing.
Be that as it may, with a homeless populace in excess of 66,400 individuals, LA County is feeling the squeeze more than most to house rough sleepers.
“If we’re going to sit and wait until affordable housing is built, the homeless problem is going to keep growing,” said Ken Craft, CEO of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, which runs the Chandler Street village. “We have to be able to get people off the streets and get them into interim housing, while we’re addressing the issue of affordable and permanent housing.”
He added: “A ‘tiny home’ gives people a real sense of independence and security. To me, it allows all people — but especially women — to take a deep breath, regroup, and start living again, instead of just surviving.”
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News
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