County Opens 34 ‘Tiny Homes’ to Unsheltered
Alameda County officially opened 34 newly constructed tiny homes last Wednesday to eligible homeless applicants in San Leandro, Castro Valley, and the unincorporated areas to help them get into transitional and supportive housing.
The bright blue and red-colored structures were installed at a designated village at the Fairmont Navigation Center on Foothill Boulevard. The homes are small enough for an adult and as many as two children and feature a bed, a kitchenette, a restroom, and a small dining area. Of the 34 buildings, 28 are standalone, with the remaining six built as a single unit.
In addition, 15 of the homes will be prioritized for those homeless who are too ill or frail to recover from a physical illness or injury on the street but do not require a hospital setting.
“This village will play a crucial role in helping individuals transition out of homelessness and into permanent housing,” said Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley. “I’d much rather see the unsheltered getting help and services here than living in parks or on the streets. It’s more dignified for folks.”
The project cost Alameda County about $8 million, or about $235,000 per unit. Some of the funding came from last year’s federal stimulus program, CARES Act.
“This project is another important piece in our county’s efforts to assist people who are homeless, and a wonderful option for people who can use support in pursuing their health and housing goals.”
Because of its location on county property and proximity to the rest of the Fairmont complex, people living in the tiny homes will have access to county-sponsored resources including housing navigation, support services, linkage and referral to social services, medical, behavioral health, and substance use services. The site is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and includes security guards from Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS).
The Fairmont village initially started three years ago with plans to convert vacant buildings on the former hospital campus into a hotel-like setting for the unhoused. But the impact of COVID on public gatherings and social distancing transformed the renovation into new construction with individual living spaces. The tiny homes at Fairmont were modeled after six similar-sized units built in the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church of Hayward on Grove Way.
“We worked with Pastor Jake from First Presbyterian on this new village,” Miley said. “We got ideas from that project and applied it to this one. One thing we are looking at is adding another tiny home village located in the unincorporated area in Castro Valley.”
Unlike the tiny village at First Presbyterian, residents at Fairmont will not pay into a rental-reimbursement program. Miley also noted that since there are many social services within steps of the Fairmont village that he anticipates a 6-month turnover for the unhoused. First Presbyterian allows for applicants to stay up to 18 months.
The 34 units will increase access to low-barrier interim housing and medical respite for people who are homeless. More than 8,000 people experience homelessness in Alameda County each night, with 79% of this population experiencing unsheltered homelessness on the street, in tents or vehicles. Skyrocketing rents over the last decade have contributed to homelessness, as more than 80% of those who are currently experiencing homelessness in Alameda County lived here before losing their home.
For every person that exists homeless—three more become homeless,” Miley said. “Clearly, we have to be compassionate.”