A 'Tiny Home Village' Grows in Los Angeles

Jesús Sanchez reports on the tiny home village now under construction in L.A.'s Highland Park neighborhood, an area that has, for years, been seen as a poster child for the gentrification of historically Latino neighborhoods. "The Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village will consist of 115 cabins -- each measuring 8-feet-square," intended to house up to 224 people as transitional housing. "Tiny home villages are intended to last about three years and provide temporary housing until permanent homes can be found for residents."

The Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, which operates other tiny home villages in Los Angeles, will provide security, manage the campus and oversee the social service agencies that offer services to help stabilize the residents as they wait for permanent housing placements. The Highland Park complex is considered to be the largest of its kind in the state, if not the country.

"Founded in the San Fernando Valley 12 years ago with the goal of breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty, Hope of the Valley opened LA’s first tiny home village in North Hollywood six months ago and has since opened additional villages in North Hollywood’s Alexandria Park and Reseda." A similar project recently launched in Echo Park as the region grapples with an increasingly severe housing crisis.

While tiny homes offer a temporary stopgap to the homelessness crisis, critics argue they don't go far enough–what good is 'bridge' housing, some ask, if there is no permanent housing available on the other side?