Tiny Shelters for Homelessness
Francis Georgian
The City of Vancouver is piloting the construction of a ‘tiny shelter’ project in the False Creek Flats. These shelters, aimed at creating spaces for housing the homeless, have been approved by City Council, and are anticipated to open by the fall of 2022. They will have access to heating, air-conditioning, and all amenities provided at the Klahowya Tillicum Lalum shelter, located near the project.
This project, which will consist of around 10 structures meant to house 20 people overall, is planned for the next two years. Each ‘tiny shelter’ will be composed of one room with space for one person or a couple to sleep in and store their belongings, as stated by the city
To provide a framework for the creation of the Tiny Shelter program, the City of Vancouver has outlined $1.5 milllion in Empty Homes Tax revenue to fund the project, as obtained from the Daily Hive.
In other parts of the world, ‘Tiny Shelters’ have been erected for a multitude of purposes. Among them are Los Angeles’ tiny shelters: who were erected as a temporary path out of homelessness, Seattle’s web of shelter systes, and Elkhart County, Indiana’s Tiny Shelter project: whose aim is to provide shelter to homeless people who do not want the traditional approach to homeless shelters.
Inspired by the tiny shelters in Dignity Village, Portland, Oregon, these shelters will be 100 square feet once complete.
They will not have kitchens or washrooms, as those facilities are expected to be provided at the Tilicum Lalum shelter.
The idea was brought to council in a motion submitted by Councillor Peter Fry in October of 2020 as a way to address the homelessness crisis, which stood at 2,095 people in the last count done in March of 2020.
In an interview by the Globe and Mail, Councillor Fry said “the SROs and the shelters aren’t appropriate housing for a lot of the population…The increased privacy and autonomy offered by tiny shelters makes them a more humane and dignified option than shared shelters.”
The construction of these ‘Tiny Shelters’ will be a new addition to more than 1700 permanent supportive residences constructed in Vancouver since 2010.