THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE TINY HOME VILLAGE PROJECT.

It is a harsh fact that many people remain sleeping on the streets despite the array of available outreach and provider programs.

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.

Tiny Home Village is located next to the Albuquerque Indian Center, 105 Texas St. SE. Location of the village is purposely in close proximity to public transportation and services, such as grocery, healthcare, and pharmaceutical. 

The Tiny Home Village will consist of 30 individual 120 sq. ft. homes with heating and cooling Each tiny home will have a bed, desk and storage space as well as electricity. 

The Village House is a shared common area that includes the kitchen, dining and living spaces, bathrooms, and laundry facilities. The goal of the common spaces is to foster socialization and reconnection to others. 

Construction is currently underway for the project with completion expected by fall 2020. 

Goals for the Tiny Home Village: 

• Provide dignified, safe, stable and attractive transitional housing for people currently experiencing homelessness. 
• Incorporate housing and services to stabilize residents and help them on the path to health and well-being. 
• Provide a safe space for those waiting for traditional affordable housing to become available. 
• Add deliberate and supported community-building, self-development, and provide life and work skills. 
• Provide support for employment.  

Three-Level Security Plan

The Tiny Home Village will be fully fenced with a security gate to protect residents as well as the surrounding community. In addition: 

• Village resident volunteers will be on duty 24/7. 
• Bernalillo County will contract with a private security firm to call in case of emergencies. 
• Bernalillo County will build an ongoing relationship with the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department to provide backup as appropriate. 
• Additionally, there will be rules established (i.e., no drugs or alcohol on the premises) and residents will be required to follow those rules. 

Benefits of Transitional Housing

 Providing transitional supportive housing to unhoused adults makes good economic sense. Transitional supportive housing can reduce:  

• Healthcare costs by 59% 
• Emergency room costs by 61% 
• Number of general inpatient hospitalizations by 77% 
• Hospital inpatient costs by 55.9% 
• People who are homeless: 
• Visit an emergency room an average of five times a year (at an estimated cost of $18,500 to $44,000) 
• Spend an average of three nights in the hospital per visit 
• Are more likely to be re-admitted (in Albuquerque the readmission rate is 30.1% for homeless individuals, about 19% higher than the national average) 

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 will have more flexibility in selecting residents and operating than HUD-funded communities. 

There will be 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 will not accommodate minors. At this time, only dogs will be allowed as pets.  

All villagers will be living at or below the 30% of Area Median Income (AMI) level and will agree to pay no more than 30% of their income or a flat rate of $30 towards village maintenance. Villagers will, however, be able to take residence with no income at hand. All villagers will be required to work with a peer-specialist, case manager, and/or occupational therapist to formulate and follow a personal strengths-based plan. All villagers will 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