The Tiny Home Village program emphasizes community building among the villagers. Consequently, housing is just one of the program components, not the main priority. To achieve this, we are activating the village incrementally and introducing new community members slowly so that we can maintain the integrity of the community. Our selection and screening processes are also deliberately careful and, therefore, takes time. We believe the care and engagement we take with building a solid community support system will stand the villagers in good stead in the long-term as they transition out of the village and continue to work towards personal self-sustainability.
Applications to the Tiny Home Village are currently closed temporarily. We apologize for all inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
Housing the homeless is challenging. For every 100 renter households in the U.S. who earn “extremely low income” (30% of the median or less), there are only 30 affordable apartments according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Multi-unit, dormitory-style public buildings can be very expensive to build, starting at about $200,000 a unit.
That is why about 10 years ago communities began to explore building small villages comprised of small single units that would offer residents safe places to sleep.
While the county and city offer a variety of outstanding services to people living on the street, individuals are still “falling between the cracks,” and services need to be provided on a case-bycase basis. This project will help fill gaps in the existing services while also providing an alternative to current interventions that are not able to adequately address each individual’s specific needs.
Our Tiny Home Village is inspired by the community first housing model with the basic philosophy that housing alone will never solve homelessness, but community will. Please visit the following projects for more information about the community first concept at www.mlf.org and www.squareonevillages.org.
New Mexico's first tiny home transitional housing project is funded by Bernalillo County and managed by the Albuquerque Indian Center. Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley spear-headed the project in collaboration with City of Albuquerque Councilors Diane Gibson and Pat Davis and the Albuquerque Indian Center.
Located at 101 Texas St SE, the Tiny Home Village opened to residents in February 2021 and is comprised of:
Goals for the Tiny Home Village:
Tiny Home Village Applicant Requirements
Residency Limitations
Village Security
The Tiny Home Village is fully fenced with a security gate to protect residents as well as the surrounding community. In addition:
Benefits of Transitional Housing
Providing transitional supportive housing to unhoused adults makes good economic sense. Transitional supportive housing can reduce:
Why is an alternative to traditional affordable housing necessary?
All around the country, communities are finding it more and more difficult to secure funding to increase affordable housing. While adding to a community’s permanent supportive housing is ideal, much depends on local officials being able to secure larger sums of money and administer larger numbers of housing vouchers. To exacerbate the issue, revenue generated from housing vouchers is usually collected by individual landlords scattered throughout the region rather than being redistributed back to support the entire range of services and support for the homeless — a funding mechanism which the Village is hoping to implement.
Considering the fact that many recently housed individuals are unable to find employment and/or are able to reintegrate back into their community, it is evident that there needs to be a much more holistic approach to stabilizing these individuals and helping them become self-sustainable. The Tiny Home Village hopes to accomplish this by integrating services, employment, and housing all on a single site. Also, since the Tiny Home Village is using funds other than those provided by HUD (U.S. Housing and Urban Development), the Village has more flexibility in selecting residents and operating than HUD-funded communities.
There is no discrimination against veterans, couples co-habitating regardless of marital status, same-sex couples, transgendered people, documentation, ethnicity, religious and/or political affiliation, gender, or sexual orientation. The Village does not accommodate minors. At this time, only dogs are allowed as pets.
All villagers are required to work with a peer-specialist, case manager, and/or occupational therapist to formulate and follow a personal strengths-based plan. All villagers participate in a 28-day trial residency period. The village is a self-governing model with oversight and support from the Albuquerque Indian Center, community stakeholders, providers and surrounding residents, with residents empowered to handle everyday resident and village needs.
How You Can Help
Financial donations only are accepted to support the basic needs of the village and its residents. Your online monetary donation will help to welcome home and establish a village resident from the moment they arrive. Donations of all amounts are welcome and will be applied and/or combined for maximum benefit for the village residents, as needed.
Thank you for supporting the Tiny Home Village project.
More information about this project at www.BernCo.gov/tinyhomevillage
You can also contact:
Carolyn Chavez
Village Administrator
505-328-5513
The Tiny Home Village consists of 30 individual 120 sq. ft. homes with heating and cooling. Each tiny home has a bed, desk and storage space as well as electricity.