A camp for people experiencing homelessness near the east side of the Hawthorne Bridge amid heavy wildfire smoke on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, in Portland, Oregon, USA. The United States declared a public health emergency in Oregon due to poverty. Wildfires have charred more than 1 million acres in the state, and air quality has deteriorated as Portland chokes with some of the worst air in the world.Photographer: Rebecca Smain/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(NewsNation) — Governments and charities have tried all kinds of strategies to house the homeless. However, many people build “tiny houses” on their own, but the result is questionable. Some are better described as mere shacks.
Social worker Kevin Dahlgren told the Daily Mail of the situation in Portland, Oregon, “In some areas, we're finding tiny houses built by homeless people popping up on almost every block.” Ta.
And some homeowners there say the “creative” shelters also house vagrants and criminals and are places for prostitution and drug use.
Portland is providing public funding to its small home villages and adding more. These shelters cost about $16,000 each and are large enough to hold a single bed and a few drawers. The surrounding village has a bathroom, kitchen, laundry and garden.
The first-generation houses are dilapidated and the city is in the process of rebuilding them. This is also a testament to the youth of the small-scale home manufacturing industry.
“The industry of supplying sleeping units for this purpose is relatively young,” Brian Apteker, a spokesperson for the city of Portland, told the Willamette Week alternative newspaper. He said the city is working with multiple companies to develop the new structure.
“Improvements are being made to the base model based on feedback provided through usage experience, weather conditions, etc.,” Aptheker said.
Portland and surrounding Multnomah County plan to build shelters to house about 2,700 people by the end of the year.
Homeless advocates say tiny housing can help people who suddenly become homeless get back on their feet. The idea is that it is much easier to maintain mental health and find work in a temporary shelter than on the streets or in a car.
California has selected six companies to build the tiny homes, but neither the state nor the companies have provided specific designs or cost estimates.
Another way to help people who need a quick place to sleep is a “bridge shelter.” In San Diego, the private Lucky Duck Foundation has erected a huge tent with hundreds of beds and is providing food, medical, hygiene and counseling services.
The foundation says Bridge Shelter costs “pennies on the dollar and seconds per hour” compared to permanent housing and has reduced unsheltered homelessness in San Diego County by 29 percent.