Tacoma's tiny home village is helping some find more stable housing



TACOMA, Wash. -- The tiny home village in Tacoma has been operating for a little more than a month, and some say it’s already made a big impact.

In an effort to provide shelter options to people experiencing homelessness, Tacoma City Council voted to invest about $400,000 into its first tiny home village.

The village is located on the 800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, one block away from People’s Park.

The village has 22 units that can house up to 35 people and has been operating since December.

“There is a lot of transformation going on; there is a lot of growth happening right now,” said Eric Davis.

Davis is a Special Projects manager for the Low Income Housing Institute. LIHI is managing the tiny home village in Tacoma.

He says in just a few weeks of operating, three of the clients staying in the village have already moved into more stable housing.

“It’s beautiful, man. I just want to see Tacoma give it a chance,” he said.

Ronny Brown says the tiny home village has given him a chance he never expected.

“They helped me put my life back in perspective here, because I couldn’t do it by myself. So they’re on this journey with me and that’s what I appreciate the most,” said Brown.

Brown says before moving into the tiny home village, he was living in cars or abandoned buildings.

Now, he says he’s working with LIHI to help others get back on track.

“I want to help folks who were like me at that point,” he said.

Before the village went into the neighborhood, some community members had concerns about what it would mean.

However, Shane Ourada says the tiny home village has been a great addition to his street.

“I think this is necessary not just for my neighborhood but neighborhoods all over the place,” he said.

City officials know this is not a permanent fix, and so do members of the tiny home village.

“It’s designed to transition people directly out; it’s not meant to be a permanent place,” said Davis.

The city says the village will operate for about 8 months at the location before it is removed.