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Tiny
homes are shown in Bella Coola, B.C. in a handout photo. Members
of a small B.C. First Nation have been working to build a
tiny solution to homelessness in their community. In about
a month's time, a colony of tiny homes in the Nuxalk First
Nation in Bella Coola will open its doors to four single men
who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. THE CANADIAN
PRESS/HO-Jalissa Moody
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Members of a small B.C.
First Nation have been working to build a tiny solution to homelessness
in their community.
In about a month's time,
a cluster of tiny homes in the Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola
will open its doors to four single men who are homeless or at risk
of homelessness.
Jalissa Moody, asset
management assistant for the First Nation, said she came up with
the idea while going through housing applications from band members.
Moody said she noticed
that many applicants are single men, but that there are few resources
available to them in the community, which has a transition house
for women and prioritizes housing for families with children.
"I could see there was
a wide range of applicants in our community, anywhere from single
people to families of eight who needed housing. And the houses that
we have were geared toward families," Moody said.
It makes sense to put
children first, she said. But that meant some applicants' needs
weren't being met especially those of single men.
"They'd be at the bottom
of the list for being selected," Moody said.
Between 20 and 25 men
in the community are homeless or at risk of homelessness. They aren't
all living on the street, but they don't have a place of their own
and many spend their nights couchsurfing or staying with family
or friends.
The band council approved
Moody's proposal to build tiny homes in 2016, and two years later,
the project is coming to fruition.
Each home is 338 square
feet and includes a small galley kitchen, bedroom, open living area
and enclosed bathroom with standup shower. Solar panels on each
angled roof help power the houses.
The four tiny homes are
located near the town centre, and a fifth one acts as a shared laundry
and utility room.
"Through the front window
you can see toward the river and from the bedroom you can look up
to the mountains," Moody said.
"It gives the tenants
a sense of their own house: it may be small, but it's theirs."
Each tiny home costs
the band about $50,000 to build and the tenants will pay affordable
rents for the space, Moody said.
Candidates for the homes
will be selected through the band's wellness department.
"I just think that everybody
deserves housing. It's pretty much a basic human right," Moody said.
"I grew up here, this
is my home, these are my people
We're a tight-knit community
and I just wanted to make sure that our housing is inclusive of
all of our membership."
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