Students Come Together To Build Tiny Homes For The Homeless
Just this week, students from at least 20 different schools in Washington, got together in Olympia in order to present lawmakers with their plan to help combat homelessness.
Both high school and community college students took part in the initiative. And they came together not only to present their plan, but to actually go to work in building some tiny homes for the homeless.
The plan was initially fueled by the Career and Technical Education Challenge which is a program that was created to try and raise awareness about technical education, at the same time as trying to meet the needs of those who are homeless.
They constructed tiny homes that were 12 feet by eight and they are going to provide a home for at least 26 different people who don't have anywhere safe to sleep at the moment. The homes are going to be delivered to a specific tiny house village site that is located in Northern Seattle.
The residents who will be receiving the homes are expected to start moving by next week.
This isn't the first time either that tiny homes have been considered to try and combat homelessness or to try and provide a solution to ease house issues. A number of initiatives have been launched across the U.S. that seek to build tiny homes for those in need. And there are a variety of communities already established which provide tiny homes to the homeless.
Tiny homes come in varied designs, different shapes and sizes. There really seems to be something for every taste. Over the last few years the market has really exploded and there are a variety of tiny home producers now selling in the market.
The tiny home movement has become so popular that there are even television shows now based around it, like Tiny House Builders,Tiny House, Big Living, and Tiny House Nation.
Aside from the homeless being helped, there are a wide variety of customers who are looking to consider this too as a housing option. Everyone from millennials to retired individuals who are looking to downsize and live a much simpler lifestyle.
There are a number of benefits associated with going for the tiny house over a much larger traditional home, the most glaringly obvious being the cost.
Many people who opt for a tiny home say that it frees them from debt, too much junk, and spending too much time cleaning their home. In many cases they also have the option to easily transport and take their tiny home with them.
Tiny homes can be built for just a few thousand dollars.
Depending on what you want, they can cost even more as they can be customized to your own individual needs and taste. It's expected that this is one trend that is going to keep on growing, as more people look for cheaper housing options and a different, perhaps more minimal way of living.
Pics:
Monarch Tiny Homes
BuzzFeed News
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/half-half-tiny-home-trailer_us_55d49dfae4b0ab468d9f308e
https://www.buzzfeed.com/doree/who-is-the-tiny-house-revolution-for?utm_term=.nxlXBXYyn#.hkwAVA9do
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/tiny-houses-for-homeless-people-sprout-in-los-angeles-1.3107963
http://www.king5.com/news/local/students-build-tiny-houses-to-help-homeless-epidemic/426004881
http://www.curbed.com/maps/tiny-houses-for-the-homeless
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https://steemit.com/philosophy/@doitvoluntarily/living-a-big-life-in-a-small-way
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Shared on the twitter with some key # for ya -- TY for all your support and kindness lately, thru some very tough times for me.
https://twitter.com/BarryDutton/status/846901012614950913
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
thx mate!
here are the twitter stats for this tweet of mine, 16 hrs later, if you wondered...
right on! i gotta set up a twitter and start promoting steemit too!
I have been into all this stuff for years man!
Great post!!!
If you search my name + tiny homes or shipping containers or sustainable, you will see my inner hippy is all over that stuff for eons!!!!!
Great post . Great initiative!
that's humanity.......
nice post...
nice posts friend
Good Job
Good job!
My parents-by-law recently purchased a tiny home outside of Portland. It is nestled deeply within a tiny house community that exists under the giant Douglas Fir trees. They plan to move in next month!
I also really enjoy the TV show tiny house nation. We have been watching it for years.
There is a fine line here between making a good/bad decision when deciding to move into a tiny home. We see all of that on the TV show very well. However, for folks who are otherwise homeless... It seems like a good idea.
I should also say that I like how these kids did something about their passions, rather than simply petitioning their Government to do something. These kids did not expect their Government to do anything... Instead, THESE KIDS went out and did it themselves.
These kids are good Americans!
Lastly, a bit off topic...
I feel like I need a way to give you suggestions. I really enjoy your writing and I feel the issues you cover are rather important. So here is some reading I thought you might enjoy...
http://abc7chicago.com/news/illinois-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana/1813610/
http://www.gq.com/story/justin-trudeau-weed
LOVE this, we are desperately in need of similar housing in South Africa where hundreds of thousands of people live in informal settlements. But sadly our government is slow to come to the party, often using funds to line their own pockets rather than giving people basic but humane living conditions.
ah! that is the case the world over! aha professional gangsters! 😎
So true, but so frustrating!!!!
This was my point. These kids did not wait for their government to do anything. Instead, they went out and did it themselves. The Government does not need to be involved in order to make great things happen. All it takes is people who care and have some free time to spare.
I hear what you're saying however the scale here in South Africa is way beyond what you are dealing with. Hundreds of thousands of people need homes. Just two weeks ago a fire broke out in an informal settlement close to where I live and 13,000 people lost their homes. The community have rallied but when you are dealing with a crisis of this proportion the only way to end it is with support or at least approval and financial backing from the government.
One more quick example, that relates a little better to your story...
http://www.instyle.com/news/brad-pitt-homes-for-katrina-victims
Brad Pitt was not waiting for Government. He got up and did something about it.
hahaha if only Brad Pitt would come here! I'm not taking away from the destruction or tragedy of Katrina but there was still something to resurrect - roads, water, electricity, sewerage - normal living conditions. Plus we are still not talking about the same amount of people. It is estimated that 11.6 million people live in the 76 largest townships in SA.
Or... If the Brad Pitts of your country cared enough, they could pool their money, raise money and get things done to work towards an acceptable end without any Governmental action at all.
I admit, I did not know the size of the problem but I am not certain it matters. There is clearly a leadership problem. I think we both agree there. Where we disagree is in the leadership they put their trust into.
So why, out of all those millions of people, can they not lead themselves to some sort of victory?
Is it because they are too busy waiting for someone to give them free and easy answers?
That just does not seem like a very good way to go about handling the problem.
Organizing over a million people should be able to get a lot done. Including roads, sewers, etc. regardless of it being illegal or not.
In the Katrina storm, the US Government would not allow people or any humane help into the area, it was not legal to help them either. It was a huge mistake. Wal-Mart had trucks full of supplies already on the roads that were ready to donate but the US Fed Gov would not let them in the door.
So they broke laws, they sneaked trucks of supplies in anyway. There were humans in there who were in DIRE NEED!
No one got into any sort of long term trouble, everything was appreciated in the end.
I can't seem to reply to your last comment...
First and foremost, I really do agree with your sentiment but you don't understand the complexities of this country and I can't blame you for that.
The ANC - our current government - have been voted in time and again by people who are loyal to Nelson Mandela regardless of the fact that the organisation has become one of the most corrupt on the planet. There is also much displaced loyalty because of the ANC's role in the struggle during apartheid, despite the fact that they no longer reflect any of the values Madiba's ANC stood for. However the lack of education in rural areas means that once every 4 years the ANC can drive around handing out bread and convincing the people they will look after them. I am praying that come 2019 their lies will fall on deaf ears. People have been waiting for 23 years for promises that have yet to be delivered and I think they are finally realising they need to invest their hopes elsewhere.
I would agree with you about the power of a million people if most of those people were not unemployed and those with jobs made more than about 15 dollars a day if they're lucky.
The Brad Pitts of SA do do what they can, and trust me we break rules to deliver supplies, but that is totally different to digging trenches for water pipes, bringing in massive machinery to tar roads etc. It's just sadly not feasible.
Again, I agree and respect your sentiment and wish more than anything it was that easy but it is not. :(
I totally respect everything you have said today as well. I have learned a lot and had my eyes opened to geo political problems that are going to be difficult for me to understand. I agree there too. It sounds like there are activists trying to help in South Africa as you have said which is a good thing IMO. So I thank you for the good conversation today, even if we may not ever truly understand one another.
I still think it is important to understand why Wal-Mart was incentivized to help the victims of Katrina. Most of those victims were all regular Wal-Mart customers, many of them probably also Brad Pitt customers. If Wal-Mart didnt break the rules, not only would more people have died but also, it would have effected Wal-Mart's bottom line as a hundred thousand loyal customers just died overnight.
I totally realize that geo political issues are going to stand in the way. But the large corporations of South Africa might benefit by getting involved here.
are you just learning how to use steemit @bangking ? :)