Austin's Village Of Tiny Homes For Formerly Homeless Folks To Triple In Size
The nonprofit that runs Austin's Community First Village has acquired land and plans to build out more tiny homes to house Austinites transitioning out of homelessness.
The far East Austin development of tiny homes and trailers, managed by Mobile Loaves and Fishes, currently houses 221 formerly chronically homeless Austinites. The expansion could add space for at least 1,400 additional tiny homes.
At an announcement Wednesday, MLF's founder Alan Graham said the nonprofit secured 127 additional acres for two new sites — one that will expand the current site off Hog Eye Road and another that will host a new village off Burleson Road in Southeast Austin. All told, the expansion, which is set to begin construction next summer, would more than triple the footprint of Community First — from 51 acres to 178.
Graham emphasized that the expansion is "a part of solving the pandemic of homelessness" but emphasized the need for a larger, community-wide effort to address homelessness, an issue that's become a political football in recent years as Austin's homeless population has increased.
Read more: https://www.kut.org/austin/2021-04-14/austins-village-of-tiny-homes-for-formerly-homeless-folks-to-triple-in-size
