California attempts to form a new initiative to help the homeless community

Los Angeles and the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission have teamed up to create North Hollywood’s first Tiny Home Village for the homeless. It is a plan to help the homeless work their way up to permanent housing and even a job. 

The Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission is a faith-based organization that planned the communities to be in two locations in North Hollywood — Chandler Boulevard and Alexandria Park. 

The communities have many features focused on helping and putting the homeless on the right track. Each tiny home according to the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission has two beds, heating/air conditioning, windows, one small desk and a front door with locks. Locks are very important. It provides safety for people who live in fear of the dangers of the wide open streets. Services offered in the community are onsite meals, showers, case management, housing navigation, mental health, job training and placement. 

Chandler Boulevard opened in February and has 40 homes or 75 beds. Due to COVID-19, the homes are only allowed one resident unless the residents are a couple. 

When announced and even after people resided in the tiny homes the community got some backlash from officials. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the people in power had two problems — the cost and the size. 

The tiny homes are built to 8′ x 8′, or about 64 square feet, hence their names. Even so, the original plan was to have two people live together in the home. Law officials argued, according to the Los Angeles Times, that it is comparable to a jail cell. A jail cell is 6′ x 8′ or 48 square feet. Both small. One, though, has worse conditions than the other. When in reality, both should have good conditions for the sake of human decency. Homeless or incarcerated persons should be treated fairly and given a second chance. This is why the community is good to start for Los Angeles. 

The second problem is the cost of the communities. 

Los Angeles Times also reported that the price for each tiny home is very high, $130,000, and that it’s 10 times the cost of what other states would have paid. 

As stated earlier the Chandler Boulevard has 40 homes. Alexandria Park though has plans to have over 100 homes and there are plans to build five more communities according to the Los Angeles Times. You do the math.

That’s a lot of money, but for a good cause. It’s a second chance for the homeless to start new. It’s also a second chance for the more affluent to prove that they still have dignity and respect for other human beings.

Los Angeles is a big and powerful city, so why can’t the officials budget better? California is the third state with the highest homeless population accordion to CBS. This tiny home community could serve as a blueprint for every state. A solution that will prove to offer real help to the homeless community. 

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported in 2020 that there were 66,436 people in Los Angeles County that are homeless. The source also reported that the number is up by 12.7 percent from 2019. In 2021 the population of homeless people in Los Angeles County hasn’t been reported officially. US News reported that the 2021 count was put off due to COVID-19 risks. 

The number could be higher seeing that 1.4 million people in California lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, according to the Sacramento Bee. 

Too often we see small solutions. Drives or give a dollar, lunches, but these are short term. A couple of days or a week at most. The tiny home community is a long term solution and a chance for people to build their lives back into stability.