Tiny Homes for local homeless recipients

With more evictions looming, cities like Wilmington, North Carolina & Springfield, Missouri have leaned forward in helping their homeless populations find affordable housing. Two doctors went before local hospital & city council members to raise money for a tiny home community called Eden Village. In 2020, the marvelous city of Wilmington followed in Springfield’s footsteps. They raised over $500K for 32 tiny homes, 400 square feet in size. You can read more about this wonderful community on their website: https://edenvillageusa.org/wilmington-nc/

Wilmington, North Carolina has a current population of 126K residents. There is a waiting list for homeless people hoping to get selected for one of the 32 tiny homes. It won’t happen overnight. A person must submit an application after being homeless on the streets of Wilmington one year or longer. This prevents outside applicants from overloading the selection process.

Teardrop Trailer solution

In the interim, Springfield Missouri has come up with a clever way to safely shelter homeless people on waiting lists. They purchased 7 teardrop trailers for $6K each and have established a safe campsite with toilets, sinks, and laundry facilities. Route66 Teardrop campsite charges $10 per night and their trailers are sanitized after each use. Motorcycle riders & interstate travelers can also rent a teardrop trailer on a nightly basis, when available.

Source: https://amp.news-leader.com/amp/3932785001

The Route66 campsite has become so popular & successful, they received $60K in funding from the city of Springfield for 10 more teardrop trailers!

Source: https://www.route66news.com/2021/01/28/revive-66-campground-is-getting-10-more-teardrop-trailers/amp/

Campsite location is: 3839 W. Chesnut Expressway (aka Route 66) in Springfield Missouri 65802.

Teardrop Trailer solution is ingenious because it immediately fulfills a housing need while fundraising, city permits, building codes, construction, etc. can be completed for the more permanent, Eden Villages.

It breaks my heart that wealthier, large cities like Oceanside, California and my former city residence – Sacramento have not followed in the footsteps of other tiny home communities! Many of our metropolitan cities continue to let human beings live rough on the streets like wild animals inside collapsible tents! Find a vacant lot, add some portable toilets, and hand-washing stations, and a few teardrop trailers. Tap into local volunteers and homeless advocates to help manage these encampments. And ensure rules are followed, which is the most difficult challenge.

Van Life Advocacy

If you’re wondering how a micro van life blog is related to tiny living, I suggest you listen to Carol (full-time Van Lifer) in Oceanside California advocating for a vacant lot where her nomad friends can park at night – sleeping inside their own vans. https://youtu.be/utz76UP_GLo

Carol is simply asking for a vacant lot that’s safe to park overnight. She didn’t request porta-potties or hand-washing stations because van nomads are typically self-sufficient! How difficult can it be for city council members to find an empty parking lot for overnight van & vehicle parking? Perhaps local churches could allow use of their empty lots during the week?

Debbie S. lives in her tiny van full-time and is one of my favorite van dwellers! She equipped her van on a small budget: https://youtu.be/vkXNl-33rG8