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Sunday, February 7th, 2016

In a Tiny House Village, Portland’s Homeless Find Dignity

Author:     Marcus Harrison Green
Source:     Alternet (U.S.)
Publication Date:     February 4, 2016
 Link: In a Tiny House Village, Portland’s Homeless Find Dignity
Stephan:   On the island where I live we have a citizen created social safety network whose purpose is to see that everyone on South Island has dignity, a decent quality of life, and enough to eat. As a result our social demographics and our social outcomes don't match, and the quality of life for everyone is easier, more civil, and more pleasant. The tiny home programs described in this report are another example of this same impulse. The truth is that unless ideology or theology blind you, wellness oriented social policies are always and obviously cheaper, more effective, more efficient, and more productive of a lasting solution.
A tiny house in the Oregon community Credit: Paul Dunn

A tiny house in the Oregon community
Credit: Paul Dunn

On a frigid January morning in Portland, Ore., a tour through Dignity Village follows the same path its residents are required to travel. All were, or are, homeless.

Newcomers to this homeless refuge huddle in the warming station, a small portable with photos of smiling former residents and where they are required to stay during a 60-day probationary period.

They hope to graduate to a small makeshift home like Karen, a three-month resident whose boisterous laugh carries through the village.

Should it become a permanent home, they may find themselves in the position of Rick Proudfoot, a longtime resident who works in the site’s main office, keeping track of finances.

If they’re really lucky, they may end up like Lisa Larson, Dignity Village’s CEO.

A peppy forty-something, she’s lived at Dignity Village the last six years after falling into homelessness to escape an abusive husband. She initially thought she’d stay no more than a few months. Today, Larson, who has been in her position for a year, can’t imagine living anywhere else.

“There’s […]

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