Source: Future Perfect
drug or alcohol use policy, which means that, while the space does create a safe community for residents, it excludes homeless people who are struggling with substance abuse. There is no limit to how long someone can stay at OVE. However, residents are encouraged to develop their personal plan for moving to more permanent accommodation, finding work, or whatever their path forward entails. While OVE is not a panacea for homelessness, it is a working model that can be replicated to support people who need housing immediately and give them breathing room to transition into more permanent housing. The willingness of the local
HOUSING | Case Study
“People look at the unhoused in our communities and think it’s a shameful thing. For me, the shameful thing is that we, as a society, have not made it possible for the poorest of the poor to live with any dignity.” Dan Bryant, executive director of Opportunity Village
authority to support the OVE project has been a key factor in its success, for two reasons in particular: • The city gave the project a plot of land and a 12-month lease, which they subsequently voted unanimously to extend for two more years. • None of the tiny homes met the city’s code for a dwelling or a residence, but they were given an exemption after a safety inspection.
RESULTS • OVE has provided housing for more than 90 people since it was established in 2013. • In the organization’s report to the city on their first-year pilot, OVE’s board revealed that the entire project of 30 dwellings and amenities was delivered with $100,000 cash and an equivalent amount of materials and other in-kind support. The upfront cost of providing a bed for a night was $12; however, as OVE’s initiator, urban planner Andrew Hebden noted that “if you amortize the construction cost over five years, assume the same operating costs as our last quarter for the remaining four years, the cost of operating the village comes to less than $3/bed/night. In other words, for less than $3/ night, we are providing safe and decent shelter for 35 members of our community.”
RESOURCES • Opportunity Village Eugene: http://www.squareonevillages.org/opportunity • Shareable article: www.shareable.net/blog/eugene-tiny-house-villages-modelinnovative-solutions-to-homelessness
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