Tiny Home Project in Albuquerque created for the Homeless
The Tiny Home Village in Albuquerque is an occupational therapy project that helps homeless people reconnect with their beliefs and responsibilities.
The Tiny Home Village (THV) hopes that through cultivating a strong sense of community, the power of consistency, and a feeling of pride in oneself and surroundings, its residents would be adequately equipped for when they eventually get off of the street.
The County of Bernalillo, New Mexico, obtained a 30-year lease on land owned by the Albuquerque Indian Center to construct a gated community of around 30 tiny houses with lockable doors and climate control, giving residents a feeling of security and permanence to begin to truly transform their lives.
Albuquerque looked at a comparable initiative in Oregon, the Opportunity Village Eugene, which opened in 2013, as a template for encouraging self-governance among the villagers, enabling them to choose how the village should be operated on a daily basis.
There are 30 houses in the property, each with a distinct color scheme but the same layout: a desk, two chairs, bed, closet, and stoop.
The "Village House" is located in the heart of the THV, where members can cook, do laundry, mingle, use the internet, and visit a library.
The Albuquerque THV's resource manager, Ilse Biel, told the Christian Science Monitor, “We’re trying to give the villagers some tools that would stand them in really good stead once they do move out.”
Biel would add that the concept is already functioning, with the community taking responsibility for everyday activities and keeping each other in check.
The THV is an alternative for the previous homeless community, Ten City, which popped up beside a railroad in downtown and was so large that residents began writing their tent addresses on the street.
The doors to THV aren't open to just anyone, and it's not supposed to be a safe haven.
Residents must pay a $30 monthly utility fee and pass a drug test. They must have been sober for at least 10 days before admittance, and they must be capable and willing to engage in village life, which includes duties such as de-weeding the community vegetable garden, maintaining the restrooms, and much more.
Perhaps it is for these reasons why THV has not yet reached capacity. The managers, on the other hand, are optimistic, having faith that such a town must be more than just a place for people to sleep, but also a place where they can meet people and attain the strength to ensure that when they return to society, they will be able to stay off the street.
