BLYN — They’re not much bigger than an average closet, and yet they could provide warmth, security and a sense of community for the homeless.
Tiny houses, portable dwellings roughly 125 to 250 square feet, were pitched as a way to help combat homelessness in a regional forum of shelter providers Wednesday at the Jamestown S’Klallam Community Center in Blyn.
Martha Ireland of Serenity House of Clallam County, moderator of the fifth annual regional forum, said tiny houses are “another option, another tool for working to end homelessness.”
“They really are tiny,” added Theresa Slusher, housing stability manager for the state Department of Social and Health Services.
“They’re very small.”
Slusher gave an overview of Quixote Village, a community of 30 small “cottages” serving previously homeless adults in Olympia.
Similar self-governing, tiny home villages are located in Portland and Eugene, Ore.
“I really am kind of inspired to see tiny home communities pop up as a way to create cheaper housing without a lot of debt involved, inexpensive and that would also create community, [a] sense of community,” Slusher said.
The four-hour forum drew more than 100 representatives of agencies that work to combat homelessness in Clallam and Jefferson counties and interested citizens.
The theme for this year’s event was “What We’re Doing to End Homelessness Together.”
Barbara Morey, a spokeswoman for Affordable Housing Action Group — a Jefferson County organization that coalesced around Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship after last year’s forum — said a tiny home community is being planned for the former Chimacum Park Campground near the Tri-Area Community Center.
“Tiny houses provide stability, warmth, cleanliness and privacy,” Morey said.
“They can be built rapidly and at a low cost and provide interim housing while more long-term projects are completed.”
The group envisions a village of 10 to 15 tiny houses less than 250 square feet each, Morey said.
“There were 355 homeless people counted in Jefferson County in January, including veterans, families, young adults, couch surfers, those in shelters and the disabled and chronically homeless,” Morey said.
Tiny homes, she added, “fill the gap between subsidized housing and the streets.”
Many tiny homes use solar or wind power for electricity and have composting toilets.
They cost as little as $4,000 to $5,000 to build with the help of volunteers, Morey said.
The Chimacum location is ideal, Morey said, because the park was designed for portable living and is near the Tri-Area food bank, Jefferson Transit bus stops, medical services, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and other resources for those lifting themselves off the streets.
As it completes a feasibility study, the Affordable Housing Action Group hopes to begin building the exterior of its first tiny home next month, Morey said.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” she said.
“We’re building on all the experience of all these other villages that have been created across the nation. And it’s happening here in the Pacific Northwest. And it’s mostly green.”
Lance Bailey, planning director for the city of Port Townsend, said a tiny home on a trailer is considered a recreational vehicle, which is not a legal dwelling in the city.
“I realize that there’s a lot of obstacles in doing this type of housing because it’s a little bit different than your 2,500-square-foot, single-family house, which is what we deal with in planning most of the time,” Bailey said.
He added that tiny homes are “kinda cool.”
“It’s really kind of a fascinating idea,” he said.
Other presentations at the forum focused on homelessness program funding, serving people in crisis across county lines, help for at-risk and homeless youth and empowering the homeless for self-reliance.
Community needs assessment
Viola Ware, youth and young adult program director for Serenity House of Clallam County, said her agency is developing a community needs assessment for homeless and at-risk youth between the ages of 17 and 24.
“Most of our data comes from people coming in the door,” Ware said.
“So do we really have the whole picture? That’s my concern.”
Sequim Mayor Candace Pratt, chair of the Clallam County Homelessness Task Force, said her city lacks many of the resources offered in Port Angeles.
“Most of the services are “PA-centric,” Pratt said.
“At this point, there is finally some serious interest in the [Sequim] community to pursue some viable options for the homeless youth and the addicted.”
Mike McEvoy, veterans specialist for WorkSource of Clallam and Jefferson counties, said several programs on the North Olympic Peninsula stand ready to “help people get back on their feet.”
Veterans’ programs
“All it takes is for people to know that there is help available,” said McEvoy, co-founder of Voices for Veterans.
“Once they know that help’s available and they come into the office and we talk with them, they’ll realize that they’re not alone,” he said.
“Usually if they know they’re not alone in the world, they can help themselves.”
Other speakers at the forum included Kay Kassinger, executive director of the Peninsula Housing Authority; Dale Wilson, executive director of Olympic Community Action Programs; Jessica Simon and Mary Schwartz of the state Department of Commerce; Cheri Tinker, executive director of the North Olympic Regional Housing Network; and Wendy Lawrence, executive director, Makah Housing Authority. “We have a great network in both counties,” McEvoy said.
“Working together is where the strength is, the strength in unity.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
