Tiny House Village in Iowa Proposed for Des Moines Homeless
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Key Takeaways
- The Tiny House Village in Des Moines aims to provide shelter for the homeless population, currently estimated at over 1,200 individuals.
- Joppa Outreach proposed a three-part plan, including starter, transitional, and permanent villages to assist the homeless.
- Tiny homes would cost around $5,000 each and offer essential amenities, fostering a community with access to social services and job programs.
- Despite initial support, city officials faced community pushback regarding the proposed location for the Tiny House Village.
- Joppa continues to gather support through petitions, emphasizing the project’s potential to reduce homelessness in Des Moines.
Table of Contents
An ongoing issue typically reported along the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers is that of relocating pop-up homeless camps from the estimated 100 ‘unsheltered’ individuals in the area. This means they live in tents, under bridges or inside vehicles. See how by Joppa Outreach and BSB Designs proposed a solution for a community first approach to tackle people experiencing homelessness.
If advocates say ‘it will take a village’ to stop the cycle then there is just that, a proposal for a tiny house village in Iowa.
Homelessness threatens more than 1,200 people in the Des Moines area, according to numbers from the Institute for Community Alliances.
by Nathan Dumlao (https://unsplash.com/@nate_dumlao)
These homeless tent camps have been a battle for years now. They accumulate trash, human waste and eventually attract complaints by local residence.
See Also: 20 Tiny Houses for Living in Small Homes
Editor’s Note: Stunningly well designed tiny houses from naturally rustic to traditional cottage styles.
To Address the Issue of People Experiencing Homelessness
To respond to the situation which garners a reoccurring eviction notice from city workers who then have to clean up the mess, Joppa Outreach had teamed up with national architecture firm BSB Designs. They wanted to address the issue.
“Camps like this are constantly on the move today because of homeless evictions”
Co-founder of Joppa Outreach, a local non-profit organization helping to provide services to people experiencing homelessness, Joe Stevens goes on to say …
“The city has come along and has evicted pretty much every area near homeless services near downtown Des Moines and so homeless folks have no place to go.”
Joppa is proposing a three-pronged plan to implement a tiny house village in Iowa. The group envisions three different tiny house villages for Des Moines’ homeless population including a:
- Starter village, for anyone in need of quick and temporary shelter.
- Transitional village, for employment and other resources to get back on their feet.
- Permanent village, where affordable tiny houses would be rented out monthly.
See Also: Looking to Buy or Design a Tiny House? Think About This
Tiny homes are a growing phenomenon across the country
So a tiny house village in Iowa is not far fetched since there are several other precedents for communities in Portland, Oregon. Similarly, there are precedents in Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas and Madison, Wisconsin.
The village in Austin, Texas comes from Community First!. It is a housing and community works program featuring a 27-acre master-planned community. This program will provide affordable, sustainable housing and a supportive community for disabled people, chronically homeless in Central Texas.
Joppa Outreach wants to start with about 50 tiny homes. Each would cost around $5,000 to build and would come with a secure door, windows and electricity.
There would also be a small bed, storage space, table and chairs in each unit.
Don’t think Section 8. This is a planned community
Joe Stevens wants the tiny house village in Iowa to be a centralized location where non-profit organization could funnel resources into.
Inhabitants would ultimately be living in a designed community. They would be looking for employment and a chance at stability within their current situations.
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Creating a Safe Place for Individuals
Joppa is attempting to not only provide a safe place for individuals to get a good night’s rest but also will be providing social services. In addition, they are running a job program.
See Also: 7 Trendy Tiny House Floor Plans
A schematic rendering of the tiny homes proposed for Joppa’s tiny house village in Iowa.
The tiny house village in Iowa proposed by Joppa Outreach in conjunction with BSB Designs would feature a common building that housed shared bathrooms, a meal site, laundry and other essential services to its community members. This would ensure a comfortable and dignified lifestyle.
Resident council and staff members would help oversee the gated community. They would be expected to enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy on drugs, alcohol and violence.
Additional amenities would be planned for like a shared community garden and available work spaces for on-site employment.
The goal would be to move residences from the starter village to more permanent placement in the village within a 6 to 24 month period.
by Ev (https://unsplash.com/@evstyle)
There is even a long range plan to include two more tiny house villages. One would be an emergency shelter community and another a larger village for those couples and individuals working toward home ownership.
Tiny Homes Catch on but ‘Not in My Backyard’
A year ago, city officials and Joppa Outreach nearly reached an agreement on a plot of land. That land would lay host to the implementation of a tiny house village in Iowa. This would go on to service the needs of the Des Moines homeless community.
The proposed concept that had gained momentum in City Hall hit a roadblock after a potential site in the River Bend neighborhood drew criticism from residents.
Joe Stevens says a large part of his group’s efforts have been spent educating the general public regarding how the proposal aims to eliminate homelessness.
The homeless folks are already in the neighborhoods, but they have no place to go; we keep moving them from here to there through city evictions. So what we’re doing – when they come into the village, they’re no longer homeless. They’re now a resident of the community, and we have high expectations for what they will do to contribute to the community and be a good citizen.”
Village block shown: 400’ x 400′ on 3.7 acres. 200’ diameter circular with pedestrian walking path and fifty 8’ wide Sleeping Cabins (96 sq.ft.)
Joppa is continuing to work with local officials to make the project a reality. This is important as the village could help to alleviate the overcrowding at existing city shelters.
An Online Petition on their website has already received 450+ signatures.
Neil has over 20 years’ experience on a range of large (15,000 sf) and small (500 sf) residential, non-profit, and commercial projects with a small business focus. He has two kids with his wife, Victoria, and loves family time camping, hiking, and traveling. While he grew up in New England, Neil is a diehard Buffalo Bills fan!
