‘Tiny home village’ to open on Miles Street this summer

In the coming weeks, construction will start in a local plant on 16 tiny homes that will bring some stability to individuals in Thunder Bay dealing with mental health and addiction challenges.

By August, the “village” will be established on a parking lot at 212 Miles Street East, near the May Street intersection.

“We’ve witnessed, as housing providers, how having a safe and affordable environment can really help people on their journey to recovery,” said Nicole Latour, executive director at Alpha Court Community Mental Health & Addiction Services.

“Until that basic need is met, people are just in survival mode, and they really can’t look at their future, their hopes and their dreams, because they are just trying to find a place to stay for the night and to get some food.”

Newswatch first reported last month that Latour’s agency had received nearly $4 million in funding for the project from the province’s Homelessness Prevention Program.

Alpha Court is a not-for-profit housing corporation that already owns or rents a number of housing portfolios throughout the community.

This will be its first-ever tiny home village, and the first of its kind in Thunder Bay.

In a recent interview, Latour was careful to explain the Miles Street project is very different from the temporary shelter village the city had initially considered for a site just down the street, a location city council ultimately rejected.

“The significant difference is that the homes in this project are going to be permanent. They will be equipped with full bathrooms, a kitchen, and sleeping quarters. They will be accessible as well. And they’ll have heating and cooling systems, lighting, and everything that somebody would need for longer-term housing,” she said.

Tenants of the 290-square-foot residences will pay affordable rent based on the shelter allowance allotted through their respective income support programs.

Latour said some of the clients will likely stay there only until their personal circumstances stabilize, while others could reside in the village on a long-term basis.

“Some of these units may also be permanent. It hasn’t been decided yet what type of model we are going to be going with.”

The targeted population will be individuals 18 years of age and older who are chronically homeless, and they will be selected through the city’s Coordinated Housing Access Table.

Latour said Alpha Court is collaborating closely with community partners to arrange for wraparound services for tenants of the village who require a variety of supports.

“We’re in the planning phase of this to really come together with our partners and offer holistic services to these individuals, to really help ensure their placement is successful in the homes. Our future hope is to get some concrete data around the success of this, and replicate it as further funding opportunities become available.”

She said although this is a new model for Thunder Bay, it has succeeded in other parts of the province and other parts of the country.

A key reason, Latour said, is that a village provides clients not only with a place to call their own but also with an all-important sense of community among the residents. – tbnewswatch.com

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Sooo the working poor, the people just barely getting by from their low paying jobs, get nothing while the addicts/mentally-ill who contribute zero to the local economy (actually, they actually are a drain on the economy) get houses?  For free?   Sounds wrong to me.

People who depend on the generosity of governments for their survival should not be better off than people who work.  It removes the incentive to get a job.  Why work when you can get everything for free? That is the issue I have with Universal Basic Income.

I believe that this type of accommodation needs to be earned.  The person needs to demonstrate he/she is responsible enough to have their own place.  The person needs to show a willingness to improve their situation.  Show a willingness to address their addictions.  Work to get clean.  Take courses.

We need to ask for something in return for providing these tiny homes and the services that will go along with them.  Quid pro quo.

Unless we get something in return,  a buy in from the addicted/mentally-ill, then what is the point?  Spending millions of dollars supporting people who make no effort to improve their situation makes the taxpayer ‘enablers’.  The city does not need the status quo.  We can keep the status quo for free.  A $4 million investment requires results.  Positive results.

The business model of the Unhoused/Addicts/Mentally-ill Industrial Complex requires a steady number of unhoused, addicts and mentally-ill people in the community.  That is why I find it hard to believe that organizations that are part of the Unhoused/Addicts/Mentally-ill really Industrial Complex really believe that anything they do will make a difference. But they do get money. The money pays their salaries.  Its all about the money.

The money is in maintenance and support.  Not in curing or solving the problem.  Believe me, this is ALL about money.  Notice its mostly public tax dollars funding these things not donations from the private sector?   Interesting.  No private sector cash.

Now about the houses….

…A key reason, Latour said, is that a village provides clients not only with a place to call their own but also with an all-important sense of community among the residents….

I think a lot of people, my children included, would love to have a place to call their own. Sadly, they are priced out of the housing market because of decisions made by governments and their central banks..  I am looking at you Mark Carney.

Would anyone want to own a tiny home?  Some people would.

Two hundred and ninety square feet?  How much more would it cost to make one that is twice as big?   Six hundred square feet feet.  I don’t think it would cost much more.  Just the cost of the additional materials.   Why not build millions of them?    Make them inexpensive and affordable.  Small but not too small.  Everyone gets a house.

Why not build millions of them?  Because that would hurt the value of existing homes.  That would hurt governments (property taxes, HST, etc) and banks that are holding the mortgages on those expensive houses.

The Canadian dream must be more than being able to afford to rent an apartment.