Tiny homes gifted to homeless only to be seized by the local police.

a reply to: CranialSponge

originally posted by: Asktheanimals
Surely they can find a vacant lot the city can use to set up rows of these tiny houses?

originally posted by: dawnstar
too bad he can't find someone to donate a nice piece of land for it.

I just read a couple of comments on the GoFundMe page that talk about this issue...

There is an organization in my local community (Hope's Village of San Luis Obispo) that has been trying for YEARS to work w/ our local gov't concerning zoning & building codes & they have been getting nowhere concerning a community of tiny houses for folks who are un-housed. It seems that a designated RV park is what is required. So aren't the recipients of your micro-houses getting ticketed & having the houses confiscated due to zoning /building codes?

www.gofundme.com...

Check out Austin, Texas 27-acre village of tiny houses for 250 chronically homeless. It has a chapel, a medical facility, a community garden, and an outdoor movie theater. They are linked with jobs and pay a small monthly rent. Check Off Grid World.

www.gofundme.com...

Fortunately not every city is as heartless as LA...

Austin, Texas, which I just mentioned as well as Seattle and Nashville are taking a much more humane approach to this:

Seattle's first "village" of small homes will soon provide a portion of the city's homeless population with electricity, hot water and a space to call their own while they search for more permanent housing. The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, the Low Income Housing Institute and other volunteers finished building 14 small homes on Monday atop church property that was formerly a single family home, allowing the village to tap into the home's amenities.

The village will have heat, a kitchen area, and a central building with two toilets and a shower. Officials hope that living in individual spaces with electricity and a real roof will be more attractive for some homeless residents of Seattle than living in tent cities prone to flooding. The homes cost about $2,200 to build, and residents will be expected to pay $90 a month to cover utilities. Sharon Lee, the executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute, expects residents to reside in the units for around four to six months until they transition out.

mashable.com...

a reply to: Murgatroid

Thanks for the information! Those are very helpful videos

a reply to: Ghost147

OMG, I didn't think of your situation when I saw those.

Don't forget what I said about you not being alone.

I didn't want to mention it in your thread, but I too am between a rock and a hard place.

I feel you bro... literally.

In case anyone else is wondering: Might be homeless in under a month

THOUGH SHALT NOT LIVE FOR FREE!

While SOME housing regulations are needed, most are there to prevent just what we see taking place here.

Stick two of those "Boxes" together, add solar panels and water, and I'd happily give up what I've got and go live in one.
Just think! No electricity bills!!
Just pay for water and drainage and rental of a tiny piece of land and I'd be more than happy.
And thats the problem!
I'd be happy, I wouldn't need to be tied down by a mortgage and all the other bs that goes along with being a member of the housed society.

They cant have that! So they create bs rules and regulations to prevent just this sort of thing from happening.

If we can live in little "Boxes" the banksters wont be able to steal our wealth, and then....they will become poor .....and become like us!!!

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

Where the tiny houses not up to code?

originally posted by: Murgatroid
a reply to: Ghost147

OMG, I didn't think of your situation when I saw those.

Don't forget what I said about you not being alone.

I didn't want to mention it in your thread, but I too am between a rock and a hard place.

I feel you bro... literally.

In case anyone else is wondering: Might be homeless in under a month

Haha, not a problem. That last video you posted is incredibly helpful. We have some land near us for about 10 acres for 50k which is really good in our area. It's just a matter of being able to afford it. But that last video has a lot of great tips within it.

originally posted by: 1KINGHUGO
a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

Where the tiny houses not up to code?

In a lot of places the code for a particular room is sometimes many times larger than the total square footage of a tiny home.

There are ways around it, like making the tiny home mobile. but most places don't allow a fixed home to be that small.

Its egregious....there are just too many arseholes in this world.....
Take it from the marginalized.....they can afford it....when youre small they can take it all......

originally posted by: RainbowPhoenix

For months, gaily painted wooden houses on South Los Angeles freeway overpasses had intrigued motorists looking up from the roads below.

The 6-by-10-foot structures, it turned out, were homes for the homeless that Elvis Summers had built and placed in several encampments around the city.

Each house, about the size of a garden shed, came with an American flag, solar-powered lights and a house number, proudly displayed next to the front door.

Link to article

I put this in social issues because it is an issue with society when we are ok with just letting thugs in uniforms seize what amounts to being shelter the most basic and needed necessity of man. The domiciles were even solar powered so it's not like they were stealing power from the state/county or whatever whoever. It seems as our overlords and masters think that the underprivileged don't even have a right to exist at all. So much land in the world surely there is somewhere these tiny dwellings could be put so that these people can at least have a roof with four walls to sleep under at night. This makes me so sad, angry and scared that it has gotten to this point. Like if you are so down on your luck and in between homes then society feels like you have no right to exist. I have been homeless for a few months with the worst of it sleeping in my vehicle in a parking garage to the best being sleeping on the floor at a friends in a neighborhood where getting shot is a possibility. Being homeless is not fun and sometimes unavoidable, not everyone has a family they can run back to for help in hard times.

If no one was allowed to own their own house until EVERY homeless person was housed in a regular sized private and secure house they could call their own, that would get people moving to end homelessness. If no one gives the homeless paid on the job training in a job that fits their personality and intelligence in a pleasant environment so they can contribite to supporting themselves, then they should be catered to and served. That would also get people who have the funds, people skills and smarts to create jobs, to get off their asses and end joblessness. If a homeless person refuses to work we need to find out why. If its mental, they need to be off the streets like this and given an apartment or live in a group home. If its a physical disability they can be trained to do a job that won't interfere with it, it's good for them. If its addiction, they need to be housed in treatment facilities.

It's time to enforce laws to get people moving to end homelessness with the criminal act being societal neglect of the weak and abandoning their own human family member to the street. And further penalization for making fun of them or saying they deserve it somehow. It is a violation of human rights to not have a private place to call home in the very country one is born in.

These houses are pathetic and not fitting for a human being, doesn't matter how nice they are painted. And people have been treated so badly and abandoned so heartlessly, they are crying over getting a tiny hut to themselves. This is a big deal to them. They have no clue they are worth more. This homeless and jobless crap has got to stop. Decent paying jobs for all, homes for all and help those that cannot help themselves.

If anyone enjoys being homeless, liking it, we need to have a huge area of land available just for them so they can act out their chosen life style away from the majority who would never dream of choosing to be homeless.

originally posted by: ExoticSpaceTiger
Rules only come before the individual when those in charge want them to. For themselves, rules are just a minor annoyance to silently be brushed aside if it suits them, be a bit lenient, after all! When it comes to screwing over the plebs however, rules are the sacred stick to beat the dog with.

The rules are made up products in sick brains, they're not stones falling from heaven, they're unjust, unlawful and unenforceable aberrations of nature if enough people pick up some pitchforks and surround city hall and their represenatives offices. Those lucky folk who you hire should be so grateful to have a chance to protect the freedoms and rights of their fellow brothers and sisters who honored them with the role, that this would never be happening.

Anything that violates common law, constitution AND common sense is a crime and unenforceable. These aren't real laws.

Real laws are the: thou shalt not harm your neighbor stuff.

originally posted by: Ghost147
That last video you posted is incredibly helpful. We have some land near us for about 10 acres for 50k which is really good in our area. It's just a matter of being able to afford it. But that last video has a lot of great tips within it.

The video Ghost is referring to is a must watch if anyone is seriously thinking about doing the tiny home thing.

He explains in detail how he found a piece of land in NC to lease for his 150 sq. foot tiny home for $1 a month.

The author of the video (Ryan Mitchell) has also written a few books as well, this one looks very good: Tiny House Living: Ideas For Building and Living Well In Less than 400 Square Feet

His YouTube Channel appears to be extremely popular.

His web site: thetinylife.com...

Some of the comments below the video are pretty interesting as well:

We are in the early stages of developing a 7 and one half acre EcoVillage in southwestern Saskatchewan. There are 36 50 X 50 foot lots available for sale, each being $2,800.00 per lot. If you are interested in living in a tiny house in a cooperative community this might be a good fit. Please message me

www.youtube.com...

Networking. I know I have friends who own land. Various places. I have heard that people have been known to get a 99 year lease, $1 a year even. Just to ensure the land was looked after, cared for. I also am of the belief we don't ever really own land, but are entrusted to care for it, till be pass it along, leaving behind whatever is our legacy, our proverbial footprint.

www.youtube.com...

I've lived happily and without any issues or objections on both rented land (beautiful, secluded farm by a river) and land I owned (behind a small house I also owned in a suburb, where the neighbors were terrific). I had electricity, water and sewer hook ups. It's so much easier to live in a tiny house when there is already a legal residence on the property. Trying to buy or lease land and live there in your own tiny home when that land currently has no residence on it is like pushing a rock uphill.

The vast majority of places forbid permanent camping on one's own land. Many places forbid camping period. Even places that allow it will generally not permit you to have access to utilities - you might be able to get electricity but you won't be able to dig a well or create a septic system. In addition, you won't have a legal address if the land is zoned recreational. I strongly recommend against buying land for your tiny house unless you've done very through research.

Yes, Craigslist and eBay have lots of interesting listings and I have been successful on both (the rented farm land came through Craigslist and I have purchased two nice lots from eBay, although not for my tiny home). However, I've also found that many people omit vital facts and/or tell outright lies about the land they list. Even after it's been brought to the attention of fraud prevention at eBay, they continue to let these folks list property.

There are several areas where it is not possible to build, even though the land is perfect for it otherwise, because there are problems with water rights and the county will not grant any building permits. Yet, these properties are advertised as "buildable". People also will offer landlocked property, which again, cannot be built on, but that's not disclosed. Be careful. If it's cheap, there's a reason. Make sure to uncover all the facts before you get into something that ends up costing far more than it's worth.

www.youtube.com...

"It's their own fault. There's no reason anyone should be homeless."

"Their shelter is unsightly and a health risk."

"Get a job, bums."

It all comes down to, "That's icky, I don't want to have to see it!" Gentrification at its core, is that.

As a formerly homeless individual and one at risk of being so again, I can say that "box of plywood" for some, I'm sure, was a home. And now, it's disposed of garbage. Just like society treats the homeless. Disposed of garbage.

Smh.

Peace.

a reply to: Murgatroid

thank you, that last video you posted was really quite informative.

This is just one symptom of the cancer proliferating our society. I myself am feeling the pains of our deplorable economy. College education and I'm lucky to bring in $1200 a month. I realize there's others who don't even make that, but every person has their own situation. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars of month just to rent a crackerbox, I bought a delapidated 34 foot fifth wheel camper delapidated for $400, and have been using scrap materials from construction sites (always ask the builder for permission!) For repairs and remodeling. I've spent less than $500 on materials and parts not found in scrap piles, my rv is now livable and needs less than $800 of supplies/materials to be FINISHED. Granted I've done all the labor myself but the point is I own my own home and it is VERY comfortable, all for two grand or less when it's all said and done. As for where it sits... most RV lots are less than $500 a month which includes waterelectricity, septic AND electricity. Fortunately in my case I have arrangements with the owner of the company I work for where I have no rent or utility bills in exchange for keeping an eye on the property. A BIG fringe benefit is full hunting privelages which means all the pork I can get for the price of ammunition, and no need to seek out a lease during deer season.
When one's "box" is on wheels, a municipalities building codes don't apply. It can be an rv or a shed on a utility trailer, and if you get harassed for whatever reason By "the man" just call a towing service to have your "box" relocated if you don't have the means to move it on your own.

a reply to: AceWombat04

well... you've got to admit that setting them up on the sidewalks of overpasses isn't really the best place to put them???

I'll even go so far as to say that there are probably some areas of the country (tornado alley) where it's probably justifiable not to allow the tiny houses.
And well, meanwhile we have a bunch of banks holding onto a bunch of empty houses who's owners were foreclosed on and doing absolutely nothing with outside of letting them degrade into ruins. Ya, there is a better answer to the homeless problem than tiny homes. The cities that are getting shorted on the property taxes because the "owners" on the city records have long since moved out and the banks just don't want to be bothered by changing those records could get down on the banks and either get them to take the responsibility for them or well.... put them up for auction for the taxes.. or they could just take possession of them and use them to address the homeless problem... but they won't do that, ya know, can't step on the bankers little toes like that!!!

a tiny house is far better than nothing.

Meanwhile, there are over 575,000 golf courses in the world and more miles dedicated to dead bodies in cemeteries than I can even find on Google.

There are 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. These lands total 193 million acres. LInk

So, why can't something be done again?

a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

Why is it that people need to seek protection from the government... Over and over again... This madness has got to stop.

You forgot to mention tiny float houses too.....theres a pile of water out there to put a float on....

Many 'weird' things going on....and this, well, doesn't help....



a reply to: RainbowPhoenix

they all just trying to survive....

This is what happen dumb ass bureaucrats run the show, they are so busy worrying about their image....

Stories like this are what will push people over the edge, after all they are the skeletons of society