Tiny homes4thehomeless (1)

“ForIhadnoshelterandyoubuiltmeahome.”

Whatwouldyoudoifyoulostyourjobtoday?Youmightassumeyoucouldfindanotherjob,andyouwouldhaveplentyoftimetodoso.YetstudiesindicatetheaverageAmericanlivesonly3monthspayawayfrombeinghomeless.

Doyouhavedependents,ordoyoudependonsomeoneelseforyourmonthlyincome?Oneleadingcauseofhomelessnessisthelossofalovedone,akathe“breadwinner”.It’sdifficulttofindsteadyincome,oraffordablehousing,whenonelacksexperience.

Utahoffersawiderangeofservicestohelpwithunemployment,homelessness,andrelatedissues.Yettheseservicesarecurrentlyindanger:

Affordablehousingisthelong-termsolution,accordingtoTheRoadHome’sExecutiveDirector.

Mynon-profitcompany,OneHeartOneHome,aimstobuildtinyhousesandtinyhome

communitiesdesignedtoliftunfortunatevictimsbacktotheirfeet.

OneHeartOneHomeplanstotargethomelessfamiliesandindividuals,aswellasthoseclassifiedasrecentlyhomelesswhoarestillinneedofaffordable,long-termhousing.

Wewilljoinwithexistingstateservicesandcharitiesinoffering“HousingFirst”assistancetothosewhowebelievecanandwillsucceedgiventherightopportunities.

Thisincludeshomelessvetsinneedoftrauma

counseling;wewillworktoconnectthemwithcurrentresources,sotheycanfindthesupportrequiredtomoreeffectivelycopeandfunction.In2016,theStateofUtah

identified335homelessvets.

Thisalsoincludeschildren,astheyareoftenthesilentvictimsofhomelessnesshereinUtah.StudiesdoneintheStateofUtahhaverevealedahighnumberofhomelesschildrenunderthe

ageof5andanincreasingnumberofhomelessschool-agechildren.

OneHeartOneHomeplanstostaylocaltoUtah.Thereismorethanenoughworktobedone.Wehopetoassist6families,orinotherwords,built6homeswithinthenext2years.

Our5-yeargoalistoincreasethisoutreachto12homesandatleastonefullybuiltandoperatingtinyhomecommunity.Thiscommunitywillprovidelandforthetinyhomes,easier

accesstoneededservices,andtopublicutilities.

Itwillalsoincludeplaygrounds,acommunitygarden,andmostimportantly,acultureofhelping,learning,andworkingwithneighborswhounderstandandarewillingtogiveback.

FLOORPLANS&PROTOTYPES

TheBitsyBungalowisa6’x12’microhomebuiltonskids.Thedesignisbasedaroundamurphy,orwall,bed.Thisbedisqueen-sized;largeenoughforacouple.Itfoldsupagainstthewallduringthedaytime,revealingbenchstyleseatingandplentifulstorageunderneath.Atnight,itfoldsbackdownintoacomfortablesleepingarea.

BITSY BUNGALOW

ThePocketNook,ourseconddesign,isan8’by14’tinyhome.Itfeaturesabedroomwithaqueen-sizedbedseparatedfromthelivingspacewithawall/built-inbookshelf.Thekitchenisthesmallest,butstillhasroomforacompactrefrigerator,acooktop,andsinkwithcountertops.Thishomeisdesignedforafamily,asitisdesignedtoincludealoveseat(facingtowardsawallmountedTV)thatfoldsintoatwinbedatnight.

POCKET NOOK

Our3rddesigniscalledsimply“TheDorm”asithasaverycollege-dormfeeltoit.Ithasthelargestkitchenwithroomforfull-sizedappliances,whichisplacedbesidethebed.Overthisareaisaloftthatcanbeusedastudyora2ndbedroom.Thelivingroomisatthefrontofhouse,allowingforonetoentertainguestsandopenuptotheoutside,withoutexposingone’spersonalspace.ThesefloorplansareallbeingreviewedbyourmentorsfromLaytonConstruction,andturnedinto3Dprintablemodels.

THE DORM

Youmaynoticethatnoneofthesehomesincludesabathroom.Thisisapartofouroverallplantobuildtheseinconjunctionwithatinyhomecommunity,andtooverallbuildsafe,secure,yetveryinexpensiveandspacioushousing.

Eachtinyhomecommunitywillhavepublicrestroomswithindividuallockingshowers,andlaundryroomsfortheresidents.Thiswillbebuiltasapermeantstructure,thatstayswiththeproperty.Whileincontrast,eachtinyhomewillbelongtotheindividualorfamilytowhomitisgifted.These“homeless”willnowbe“homeowners”,freetomovetheirhomeswiththem,whentheyrelocate,orevenre-sellthehomebacktous,whentheydecidetomoveaway.Thisisimportanttous,aswebelieveitisimportanttoincreasingself-worthandself-reliance,aswellas,givingresidentsthemotivationtoupkeeptheirpropertyandtrulyvaluetheirneighborhood.