Doing practical things to house the homeless...

A discussion last night of small, ecologically friendly homes caused me to remember the Atlanta-based guerilla housing cooperative The Mad Housers who build really tiny houses for the homeless.

This makes me wonder if it is at all possible to merge the two ideas?

What if we could create a community with micro lots, one twentieth acre subdivided lots, with water and sewer and buried electric service, but no streets, just bikeways, some small stores in the neighborhood in walking distance, and a bus or rail connection on the edge of the property. You'd build microhomes on the property and sell them to people who want to adopt that sort of lifestyle, but every tenth home built, you'd build for a homeless person or couple, and that would be part of what you'd sell to buyers.

This is a great idea.
But ours has become a society of "I've got mine--Fuck you", I can't see it happening.:(

I wonder if it could work? It certainly seems practical and doable. I wonder what kind of red tape (density regulations, etc.) would have to be cut through to launch such a project.

And here's another question...what would it take to begin such a project?

I'm completely inexperienced in such matters, but would love to find something tangible to do to help others, so my questions come both from ignorance and sincerity.

Playgrounds, community garden plots, a small park --places to build community. My wholly unscientific assessment of what's wrong with recent trends is that large houses encourage indoor activities and cocooning, whereas smaller houses encourage utilitarian use as shelter.

The idea of building one for the homeless as part of the design is not so different from communities with low income housing set-asides attached to new development. It's worth pursuing. Homes on microlots needn't be micro houses. A two-story house with a small footprint can deliver 800-900 SF of living space and plenty of storage and utility space if a basement is built under it. There are examples of this type of tiny housing in older neighborhoods of some cities. Cambridge, MA has "worker's cottages" on tiny lots, many without space to park even one car. Of course these were built to house production workers in the area industries. It was assumed that the workers walked to work. Shopping and other amenities were available within walking distance or via a streetcar ride. Today these cottages with tiny yards and off street parking for one car sell for around 500K because the advantages of location outweigh the disadvantages for buyers. These owners live in a community where there are beautiful parks, shopping areas, and excellent mass transit.

Personally, I'd rather live in a small space than a barn.

;-)
It's true, the notion of an average size house really is dependent on one's frame of reference. In much of New England houses under 2000 SF are still the norm, and 800-1200 SF 2 or 3 BR houses are common in rural areas. People *gasp* live there.

I'd rather have outdoor space for a garden or patio than indoor space for a great room.

I call it a shack, the city plan calls it a "Gable Front cottage." I do have a two story detached garage (I think it used to be a stable) that gives us quite a bit of storage space, but you know, it is now all full of friend's things that we stored for them "for a couple of months" many years ago! (It is all going to the curb this Spring though, as it is all really ruined from the damp and mice now.)

I know that would not work in all areas but I lived on a base and they have everything from housing (Nice size, not micro) to restaurants to schools and playgrounds. If I recall, ours even had a movie theater.

If you could move in people who specifically had training to teach then you could get money for school supplies. The government could grant small business loans for restaurants. The homeless people, on base, could work together for child care. Cities could set up a transportation system so people could get into the city and try to get a job.

I think something like this is especially important on several levels. First of all, families need housing. No one should live out on the streets but especially not those with children. Also, we do not need to use up any more of our earth's valuable resources. The housing and buildings are all already there and basically ready to move into.

It is a shame to give a base over to an oil company when we could be taking care of our own.

It's a closed Navy base, I think. And the housing is mixed: some formerly homeless people and some people who simply want to live on the island.

I'm not sure how successful it is. The advantage is there is infrastructure there; the disadvantage is there are too few buses back and forth to the city. There may be others I'm not aware of.

We went out there to host a community awards ceremony. The view is spectacular and the residents seemed very upbeat. They need entertainment and probably a host of other things but they've got a great start.

John Rosenthal.. his shelter has 100 % "graduation"..with full time jobs
Posted by SoCalDem
Tue Mar 14th 2006, 11:25 PM
http://www.boomerstv.com/episodes_episod...

He charges them "rent" for a semi private space,"hires" them, trains them, and at the end of their year or 2 years, they "graduate"...and he gives them back their "rent" in a lump sum..

A great example of what one businessman with a conscience can accomplish

This is a fantastic series..look for it on your PBS schedule..

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Doing Good and Doing Well

To some, John Rosenthal presents a walking oxymoron: a successful real estate developer who is also an environmentalist, a gun owner who champions gun control, an undisputed successful capitalist and deeply committed social activist.

Believing that there is no problem that business people can't solve when they put their minds to it, John Rosenthal is all about using whatever leverage his business success provides to address the social concerns closest to his heart: gun control and the homeless.

In the clips below, John recalls some events in his early life that led to his political activism and discusses the relationship between rights and responsibilities. Also, he issues a challenge to his fellow Boomers.

Then, listen as John discusses how business leaders can leverage their influence to assist those in need.

http://www.boomerstv.com/episodes_video....
http://www.boomerstv.com/episodes_video....

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More resources on the shelter http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22friends+of+boston+homeless%22&btnG=Google+Search

:)

A friend of mine would always comment as we drove past the many churches in my town: "All those empty rooms and not one available for the homeless."

It is only open Nov 1st to April 1st, though. They tried to site a permanent year round shelter, but our oh-so-Republican city would not allow them to. But they could not prohibit a church from offering sanctuary, so long as it was temporary.

You live in a nicer place than I. :(