Tampa’s tiny homes for the homeless welcome first residents

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tampa’s “Hope Cottages” are now open and welcoming those experiencing homelessness.

The 64-square-foot cottages provide a bed, air conditioning and heating system, smoke detector, fire extinguisher, power outlets, shelving, windows and storage space.

They can even withstand Category 5 hurricane-force winds.

The city said it worked with Catholic Charities to build the tiny homes.

“The goal here at Tampa Hope is to move people from homelessness to self-sufficiency and permanent housing with the ability to maintain that housing. That’s what we do here. We help identify what the problems are, what the issues are. So we want to maximize opportunity for success for them,” said Lou Ricardo.

Officials said 20 to 30 people will move in each week.

Catholic Charities launched Tampa Hope in December 2021 with 100 tents. It added 25 more tents soon after. Now, with the addition of the cottages, the capacity has reached a total of 225 beds.

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