For the last year, two city council members have researched and proposed countless ideas to get the people living in these tents off the street. Now they’ve taken a hammer to the wood to actually build a concept to try to get the ball rolling.
“This would be the finished product, the insulation here. Nothing fancy, we aren’t dry walling and hanging pictures,” said Councilman Anthony Coghill.
It’s a tiny home. The first of a proposed pilot program that would put 10 of them in a city-owned space for four years to serve as bridge housing for the homeless.
“We’ve lost the places where people can live very affordably, on a bus line, near food, in a community,” said Councilwoman Deb Gross.
It’s the fifth proposal these two council members have tried to push through in the last year, but they believe this is the answer because it’s immediate and cheap.
“This is one option that is lighter, quicker, cheaper, and we should do it because we can do it,” Gross said.
The cost is just $1,800 a house, the example was even built by the councilman himself. The one hiccup is waiting for the county to fully sign on board, as the Department of Human Services would have to provide the 24/7 social services plus the showers and bathrooms.