New tiny house village opens in Seattle's Rainer Valley neighborhood

Tiny house village opens in Rainier Valley

A tiny house village in Seattle's Rainier Valley neighborhood has opened in an effort to help those in need of housing.

SEATTLE - According to the latest data available, 2023 was the worst year on record for the number of deaths of people living outdoors in King County.

Now, the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI), one of the region’s affordable housing developers, is working to beat the statistics and save lives.

This week, LIHI opened its new Henderson Village, a tiny house site in Seattle’s Rainier Valley.

"Tiny houses save lives," said Sharon Lee, executive director of LIHI.

South Henderson Street is the new home to the tiny house village and the individuals, couples and families who will live there. Thirteen people, including three children, have already moved in, and Lee said more people are on the way soon.

Savannah Morris and her daughter were two of the first residents living in the village. The two moved to Washington in 2023 and stayed momentarily with a relative, but things did not work out.

"If it wasn’t for the organization, I would probably still be homeless. Because it was at a point where I didn’t know where I was going to go," said Morris.

LIHI owns the land on South Henderson Street. Lee said the organization has future plans to develop the space into affordable housing. For now, 42 tiny houses fill the village, equipped with shared community spaces.

"And then we have a kitchen, community center, laundry, hygiene, and most importantly, case management officers," said Lee.

There are also case managers on site to connect people to permanent housing, employment, and school resources.

It’s one solution to a seemingly endless problem-- according to the medical examiner's office, 415 unsheltered people died in 2023, which is up from 309 people in 2022.

"We have this horrendous, horrendous homelessness crisis," said Lee.

In addition to the issue, more people are coming to the area almost daily seeking asylum from their home countries, including Venezuela, Angola, and Congo. Most of the asylum seekers are in tents outside the Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila.

"There were as many as 500 people camping outdoors," said Lee. "Because of the crisis around the asylum seekers and refugees, we are setting 10 of the tiny houses aside for homeless families and asylum seekers."

LIHI owns a tiny house village at the church, but there are only 21 homes, which were already occupied by local residents experiencing homelessness.

In 2023, LIHI helped move almost 1,400 people into tiny homes in King County.

"We know that when people leave a tiny house village, we’re able to move them into affordable or subsidized housing or reunite them with family or friends. And so, everybody’s lives have improved after they leave a tiny house village," said Lee.

These villages, however, are no guarantee of success when it comes to transitioning people off the streets. A 2022 study from the University of Southern California found that in about 75% of cases, residents failed to find permanent arrangements. That’s still better than shelter results, where up to 95% of people stay homeless.

"We actually see the reality of hundreds of people living in tiny houses and we help end their homelessness and it works," Lee said.