Philly to unveil its first-ever tiny house village for homeless

Philadelphia will soon unveil its very first tiny house village.

The village will be home to the city’s homeless as they transition to permanent residencies.

• SIMILAR STORIES: Tiny-home village for homeless veterans in Harrisburg could start construction in spring

Called Sanctuary Village, PhillyVoice reports how this community—one of two that have been proposed in Philadelphia—will be erected on a city-owned plot of land in its Holmesburg neighborhood. Modeled after a similar endeavor in Seattle, Sanctuary Village will house up to 30 homeless individuals at a time that have been referred through the Office of Homelessness Services and Welcome Church.

According to the same PhillyVoice article, each individual will be assigned a case manager who—together with volunteers—will provide them with services such as job training, resume workshops, and health care assistance as they seek permanent housing.

“Our residents will be women who have been experiencing homelessness and are at least 55 years old/or have a condition making them most vulnerable to COVID-19,” elaborates the village’s website.

“I really like the concept of people coming together in community,” tells Cathy Farrell, the nonprofit’s board president, to the publication. “[Residents] will be mutually supporting each other through the process of getting back on their feet and living independently again after a long time.”

While the village in the City of Brotherly Love is reportedly the first of its kind, PennLive previously reported a similar community created for homeless veterans in Harrisburg which received a $1.5 million grant from the state.

When the tiny house village is set to be unveiled by city officials remains undisclosed.