Nevada County Homeless Advocates Floating Microhome Concept As Stepping Stone
NEVADA COUNTY (CBS13) — The homeless population in Nevada County could have a new place to call home a year after officials shut down Hangtown Haven.
The new plan from county officials would build a homeless village entirely out of microhomes.
The idea differs from Hangtown Haven, a community built by activists as an experiment to keep the homeless population out of city parks. The tent city closed after more than a year in November 2013 after officials said it was too successful and attracted more homeless people to the area.
The new plan would be a bit more permanent, and it follows a trend seen in cities across the country.
Janice O'Brien, president of the nonprofit homeless advocacy group Sierra Roots, says homeless shelters in the area are at capacity every night, leaving many of the homeless with nowhere else to go.
The plan would call for building small, one-room homes close together that would have electricity and running water.
"It's a place where they can connect with agencies. They don't have money so they don't have transportation so they can't get to behavioral health which is three miles away," she said.
O'Brien says the village would be self-governed and maintained by all who live there, and a place where the homeless could learn new skills like gardening or cooking.
"Shelter is treatment. As soon as they have their own place, a little place, it can be little but its a place they can lock up and be safe and secure," she said.
O'Brien says the idea is for the village to be a transitional point that can help the homeless get back on their feet.
She says they've drawn up plans, but they still need the financial backing. They have a meeting planned at the end of the month where they hope to drum up the support they need to move forward with county or city leaders.
Several other cities across the country have done something like this, including Washington, D.C; San Francisco; and San Jose.
