Written By: Farah Vitale

The City of Reno might be building a tiny house village as transitional housing for the homeless. The project would be a collaborative effort between Reno, Sparks and Washoe County as they’ve been working on the issue of homelessness. They have recently visited examples of these villages in Seattle.

Tiny houses in Seattle

Since the houses are relatively cheap, this plan is 90 percent likely to happen.

Part of the reason for that is that tiny house villages are relatively cheap. The cost of a tiny house village in Seattle, with caseworkers and wraparound services, is about $200,000 a year. If 40 people live there, that comes to about $14 per person per day. It costs the City of Reno $26 a day for a person to stay at a homeless shelter. Doing nothing is the most expensive. Each person out on the streets costs the public between $150 and $500 a day, due to law enforcement, cleanup, court services, and medical costs. The person risks their life and the city drains their resources.

This new plan would be a great way to start the process of getting homeless people working again. The first step is the get them sheltered, then next would be to get them into programs. Until they get the help they need, they won’t be employable. That’s why this is  a step-by-step process. There’s between 80 and 130 homeless on the streets in Reno, so the plan is definitely doable and the City is excited about it. It’s one of the biggest issues in Reno and it’s finally underway.

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