Projects We Love: Tiny Houses

This isn’t brand-new news, but it is still newsworthy.  This early polar freeze we are experiencing has shaken us all up.  This cold coming early also makes life as a homeless person more difficult. Our founder, Gregg Potter, has worked extensively with homeless populations globally.  His view is that homelessness is not a problem, it is a circumstance.  Each one of us could find an unfortunate path that leads us to life without a place to rest our head. Because it is a circumstance, and not a problem, we need to aid people in their individual situations.

Occupy Madison is taking steps to assist the homeless population in south central Wisconsin. This last Saturday, there was a ribbon cutting for the Tiny House Village.  This village is creating homes that people from the homeless population can partner with to obtain. Each person must volunteer, agree with the mission and vision of the village, and abide by strict rules. The idea is that this will be enough a stepping stone to reach personal goals.

The Tiny House Blog mentioned this:

Occupy Madison, with help from numerous community groups, has built nine tiny houses, a day resource center, laundry facilities and a community gardening space in the village. The 96 square foot homes are made from reclaimed and recycled materials and include a bed, a toilet, propane heat and solar panels for electricity. Each building costs around $5,000 to build and the money was raised with private donations.

There may never be one definite solution to homelessness because each person, with or without a home, has their own story and their own set of circumstances.  The Tiny House Project is a great step towards helping out in specific communities.  Click here if you’re interested in doing this where you live.

Here is a Huffington Post article about the Tiny House Project.

And, even though we assume people know this, a list of things one should never ask a homeless person.