"Innovative vertical tiny home village" comes to Davis in hopes of tackling homelessness
DAVIS – Homelessness. It is a complicated and heated issue in Northern California. However, one Yolo County community thinks it might have found an answer.
Paul's Place is being described as an "innovative vertical tiny home village." Years in the making, it will soon welcome people home.
The four-story building features 18 micro-units of permanent supportive housing. There is also transitional housing and an emergency shelter. Communal spaces include laundry, kitchen and sitting area.
Davis Community Meals and Housing will operate the one-stop shop for housing and supportive services. The organization found a major financial supporter through Sutter Health's Getting to Zero campaign.
"Ultimately, health outcome is really representative of having access to the basic needs that we know individuals need so they can focus on other things outside of that foundational need," said Tammy Powers, a chief administrative officer for Sutter Davis Hospital.
Other funding came from private donations and the American Rescue Plan
Construction costs more than $7 million.
Executive Director Bill Pride of the homeless organization estimates it will cost up to $9,000 to house each person per year.
Could this model be replicated elsewhere?
"It certainly can be. I think that's a conversation every community has to make about how they want to address their homeless issues," Pride said.
Paul's Place uses a hybrid model of relying on donations while people placed in permanent supportive housing will pay anywhere between $400 to $500 a month.
"I think the costs to the community of having people actually in the streets actually far exceeds what it actually costs to put someone in a unit like this," Pride said.
A 2017 study analyzing homelessness in Orange County supports this idea The costs of homelessness declined by 88 percent when people found permanent supportive housing.
Though, money is a fraction of what the work really means to supporters.
Other services include help with social services and health. People will be able to move in as early as March for the emergency shelter and transitional housing. But for the permanent supportive units, will not be until April or May.