Austin’s Tiny Houses: a Community First Village

An innovative solution to the lack of affordable housing in the US, the Tiny House movement is gaining popularity in several major cities. I visited the Community First Village in Austin, a couple of miles out from downtown. Founded by Alan Graham and run by the Mobile Loaves and Fishes (MLF) faith based charity, the $14.5 million privately funded village is built over 27 acres, and contains 120 micro homes, 100 RV’s and 20 canvas sided homes.

Unlike some cities where tiny houses have been likened to “shanty towns”, here the village is part of a living community, which is something MLF strongly advocates.

It is important that the homeless are seen as part of the community not something outside of it to be feared. MLF makes efforts to maintain the support of the local community by inviting in volunteers and outside agencies.

Photo: Mobile Loaves and Fishes

The village operates on housing first principles. Residents are usually referred from outreach services throughout Austin, who triage rough sleepers on the street and determine their eligibility to live on site (MLF takes those with criminal convictions with the exception of sex offenders). Wraparound support is available via on site city healthcare providers. Residents are encouraged to tackle their addictions but within the principle that stable housing is essential to make changes, residents have a safe space to address their issues with (almost) no strings attached, indeed the only “deal breaker” is not paying rent and all residents are supported to do this by their own case manager.

Photo: Mobile Loaves & Fishes

When I arrived quite late in the afternoon, the village

was very quiet, almost deserted apart from a few residents out enjoying a film in the open air cinema. A couple of the Tiny Houses are rented via AirBnB to generate an income, and I enjoyed experiencing the village first hand. The houses really are tiny, but comfortable and self contained with an ingenious layout squeezing in all manner of mod cons.

Inside my tiny home at the Community First Village

I got up early the next morning and stopped by a few of the residents homes to try and get an idea of what life was like here, did people like living here I wondered, and what if anything made this community work as a way of ending homelessness? Walking around in the Texas heat, already sweltering at 9am I realised that the open porches, a design feature of each and every home had a dual purpose. Almost none of the residences contain an A/C unit due to the cost. The porch functions as a way to keep cool but also keeps people connected, most of the residents were out passing the time of day with their neighbours.

I met Tracey, a woman recently housed in the village who had been homeless for over 20 years. Estranged from her family after years of drug abuse and cycling in and out of jail, she had found a sense of belonging for the first time in the village. Tracey talked about the impossibility of recovery when you have nowhere permanent to stay. Like many homeless women she slept rough or stayed with violent partners rather than entering the shelter system and became involved with various pimps who beat her and fed her addiction. She had been in and out of jail more times than she could remember, but she had never had a safe place to stay and always ended up homeless within days or weeks of release.

On site health care provider: MLF

The premise of the Community First movement, that recovery from homelessness depends on being part of a community makes sense. Tracey had only been resident for just over a month but is already remarkably settled and happy. I met other residents who had been homeless for many years, and a common theme in discussion was the need for a support network and a sense of purpose. Those who are able to work have jobs, and a stable place to live, building the foundations of a lasting recovery from homelessness and addiction.

Virus-free. www.avast.com