ā‰” Menu

Village Collaborative Brings Together Resources to Build Affordable Tiny Housing to Help Homeless


This post contains affiliate links.

The Village Collaborative brings together resources to help people overcome homelessness by providing affordable tiny housing.

The organization provides resources across the USA like tiny houseĀ building plans along with information on how to start a village in your area.

Below you can see examples of the many tiny homes that have been built using this concept along with current communities that already exist which you can learn more about!

How This Organization is Helping Create Affordable Tiny Housing Across the Nation And How You Can Help!

The Village Collaborative The Village Collaborative The Village Collaborative The Village Collaborative The Village Collaborative

Highlights

  • Democratic tent cities
  • Based on the Village Model
  • Response to poverty and homelessness
  • Homes are 400 sq. ft. or less
  • Shared resources in each village
  • Each community has a basic code of conduct
  • Non-profit sponsors provide support

Existing villages include:

Quote

The Village Collaborative is an effort to network, inform, and encourage collaboration amongst the various groups working towards a common vision of implementing the Village Model.1

Resources

  1. http://www.thevillagecollaborative.net/
  2. https://www.squareonevillages.org/
  3. http://quixotevillage.com/
  4. https://occupymadisoninc.com/
  5. https://dignityvillage.org/

ShareĀ this with your friends/family using the e-mail/social re-share buttons below. Thanks!

If you liked thisĀ youā€™ll LOVE ourĀ Free Daily Tiny House NewsletterĀ with more! Thank you!

You can also try our NEWĀ Small House Newsletter!

More Like This:Ā Explore our Tiny HousesĀ Section

See The Latest:Ā Go Back Home to See Our Latest Tiny Houses

This post contains affiliate links.

The following two tabs change content below.

Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 11 comments… add one }
  • Marsha Cowan
    December 5, 2017, 9:07 pm

    Is this two different homeless “villages”? If so, I applaud one that looks like the tenants (and I hope it is the tenants) are taking pride in it and keeping it up beautifully. The other is nothing but trashed. Since there is a bike, and a piece of a bike propped on the featured house, I am assuming it is the owners transportation. There are curtains on the windows. There is broken furniture in the yard. Then there is cardboard, wood scraps, and food trash everywhere else. Is this a village? Don’t tell me it is a worksite because I see no tools or other evidence of ongoing construction. There is a grill behind this house, and all the people gathered around in the other picture of trashed surroundings don’t look like they’re working. They’re hanging out in front of their homes. What is that large blue structure falling down on the left of the picture? What a mess. Somebody please tell me this is not a “village” :/

    • James D.
      December 6, 2017, 4:03 pm

      I believe Pam is correct and those are simply photos of work in progress.

      Mind, many of these are operating under shoe-string budgets and may have just a few volunteers to help build the structures. While they may also be having the “tenants” help build their own as part of the process.

      It’s just that living in something you’re still building can be messy and take longer… But it can be just that much nicer when it’s all done and those who helped built it for themselves can appreciate it more…

      You can check out the youtube channel for “Tiny House Customs” for a builder who is living in his Tiny House as he finishes building it to see that it is normal for it to be messy during that phase of the process…

      While much of the building material may be from salvage and some of these are being built on existing shelter grounds and are just transitioning from the older makeshift shelters to the new houses…

      Unfortunately, there’s still some resistance to allowing these so they can’t always be picky where they are placed and they still need to provide shelter for people while the new structures are being built.

      Along with some improvising as salvage/reclaimed materials can require some creativity to make use in a new structure, but helps keep the costs down and allow them to house more people with the limited budgets they have to work with to help these people.

      Another thing to consider is that many of these people need help beyond just shelter and those running these villages have to be able to provide those services too if this is to expected to work over the long term…

      However, things should improve considerably once these become more wide spread and accepted… It’s just an ongoing process for now and some will take longer than others to get to a good point depending on their situation but you can also see how far some have already gotten as well…

  • Michael L
    December 6, 2017, 2:32 am

    Well Marsha, I clicked on the first link for the villages, and picture 2 and 3 appear to be Dignity Village! So yes, those are some of the dwellings!

  • December 6, 2017, 5:36 am

    ….”But when all go avery budy…, is Good and that’s Right, to Never Change!:)))

  • December 6, 2017, 5:45 am

    …”But if everything is Alright…, what do you want to change?

  • December 6, 2017, 6:01 am

    I would see this initiative near Venezia (Italy), ask for permission from the Governator of the Veneto, or the Mayor of Venice, because there is tourism all year long, and many turists would need “economic accomodation”. Just inquire, it would be great….Reflect Carefully

  • Steven
    December 6, 2017, 7:31 am

    I started my own tiny home community on the Beautiful island of Roatan!! Fenix eco cabins on Facebook

  • Pam
    December 6, 2017, 9:34 am

    Marsha, it appears to me to be a village in building stages in the photo you mentioned. I have worked construction sites and they always look like this. The people standing around appear to be the builders who are maybe taking a break.
    I think this is an awesome idea. It will help get people off the streets into a safe environment. I live tiny and these places they are building are larger than what I live in. I feel more towns/cities/etc. should jump on the bandwagon and do something like this instead of wringing their hands wondering what to do about the growing homeless population.

  • Sharon McMahan-Mulnix
    December 6, 2017, 2:45 pm

    This could be the answer to homelessness. However Dignity Village is a perfect example of what municipalities are afraid of. Shacks thrown together with what ever could be scrounged up, accumulated junk everywhere, not in the least bit a habitable community. Even I would say, “Hell no, not in my neighborhood!”, if this were the end result.

    A few villages in a few towns still doesn’t address the need for those who want to, wish to, need to or have to downsize but have no where to build or place their tiny home.
    There has to be a way to convince the powers that be, its in their communities interest, to pursue tiny home parks (for THOWs) or tiny home villages (permanent on foundations) and affordable, single family living, for anyone who wants it.

    • James D.
      December 7, 2017, 5:37 pm

      Photos can be misleading, especially when many of them are more than a few years old and don’t actually show the villages as they are now or how the people there actually live…

      Here are some documentary videos that will give a better idea of what these places actually look like as well as highlight many of the struggles involved as well as what happens in places when they either don’t have these options and do what they’ve been doing for years, or had these options but had them taken away an what the result was…

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDiS7Q-FUw

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_TqB1uzRdM

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhFKPZqFd3o

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgDiS7Q-FUw

      Note, though, that these villages are starting to see results. Reports indicate the local crime rates have dropped significantly, the streets are much cleaner, conditions are healthier with much fewer issues with diseases for the homeless in these communities, and the people there are actually being helped and starting to improve their lives.

      So whatever else may be your takeaway, there’s been some beneficial results and that may be what can eventually help convince the powers that be to expand this and eventually start offering such options for all those who may need them…

  • Marsha Cowan
    December 6, 2017, 5:13 pm

    Thank you, James, for the thorough explanation. I hope these do succeed soon.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.