Editor,
It is time we stop thinking about only a local solution to the homeless situation here in Laguna Beach. Homelessness is not isolated to our fair city. Ask any other Orange County city. It is time to think smarter! It is time to expand what others are doing. Think county.
First, how is this problem being handled elsewhere? Volunteers, non profits and other organizations, in partnership with cities like Austin, Texas; Portland and Eugene, Ore.; Olympia, Wash.; Madison, Wisc.; Ithaca, N.Y., and Huntsville, Ala., are building or have built small, single and/or double occupancy homes for their homeless populations.
These “Tiny Homes” range from 60 to 500 square feet. Many are semi-permanent, being built on a trailer base because of zoning laws. Cost varies, but they start at about $5,000 each. The price depends on the amenities added. The smaller ones come without electricity, water and bathrooms; such amenities are met in a communal building. Many have compostable toilets. Several organizers plan to add solar. Larger modular buildings (think Laguna’s ASL size) are used for communal areas, laundry, cafeteria and other necessities, including on-site case management. Public transportation is readily and safely available. Residents may help with property management and may or may not pay rent on a sliding scale.
Eugene, Ore., is housing some 45 people in 30 huts and/or bungalows. All done for less than $100,000, at no taxpayer expense.
The resultant self-contained community provides all the freedoms, conveniences, and security these individuals need, along with the necessary help, case management and social activities that add so much to the quality of life.
While few coastal cities have several acres available for such a venture, Orange County does. It is time for all the cities of Orange County as a group to address this common issue. With a little give and take, surely there is a small piece of open land where a community could be built with everything these individuals would need physically, emotionally, mentally and medically, even security and fire. Using the Tiny Houses model, all the cities of the OC in partnership with advocate and religious organizations could do this for far less money than what it would cost any one city to build and maintain.
Let’s broaden our thinking and realize our potential as a greater community for the benefit of all.
Louise Thornton, Laguna Beach
