Frequently Asked Questions

Our first village is located in a neighborhood near Stone Ave. and Glenn St. But dignified housing is needed all over Tucson so we plan on building as many villages as we can, in different areas of town to help our neighbors in need.

Quite the opposite! Studies have found that housing villages like this REDUCE crime in the immediate area. When people have stable and reliable housing that meets their needs, they are no longer prone to commit crimes of desperation and be incarcerated as a result.

Housing assistance reduced the number of jail days of homeless individuals by 130% and decreased the probability of committing a crime by 80%.

Rates of aggravated assault and property crimes like robbery and burglary decreased within 1/5 of a mile from a given site.

In LA from 2020 to present, even as citywide crime committed by unsheltered suspects rose 19.4%, crime in areas within a quarter mile radius of shelter villages dropped an average of 24.9%.

Read more about how housing increases public safety

Although we can’t predict the future of real estate, past data doesn’t support this. A study conducted on over 20 villages in Massachusetts, California and Washington showed that home values within a half-mile radius of the villages increased on average by $15k over a two year period.

We get nearly zero financial support from the city, county and state, and only minimal support from the federal government. As of this writing we’ve secured about $220,000 in grants, only a quarter of what’s needed to build and run the first village for the first year. The vast majority of our funding must come from the donations citizens like you! Please consider donating now.

An individual micro-house costs between $7000 and $14,000 depending on the design. We are actively working with local builders to bring the prices down, but zoning and housing regulations are the biggest contributors to the cost.

Unfortunately the builders of our houses only sell to businesses and organizations, in bulk.

That was our first thought too! Unfortunately a shed doesn’t meet the requirements for safe and secure human habitation required by city, state and federal guidelines. Insulation, fire safety, heating and cooling, weather resistance, electrical codes… the list of requirements is long.\

You can help by advocating to local governments to make special exemptions to building codes so that we can build more micro-homes for cheaper. Cheaper housing means more people in houses!

Our micro-homes will have a bed, electricity, heating and cooling. If you can imagine a dorm room for one person that’s pretty much it.

Each village will have communal bathroooms and kitchen areas. This has two benefits. The first benefit is cost.

The number one hurdle for developing our villages is money. Homes without plumbing are faster, easier, and more cost-effective to build. Omitting plumbing drastically reduces the individual cost of each home, as well as the time needed to construct them. Cheaper homes means more homes for people!

Another benefit to communal spaces is the improved sense of community with our residents. When you have to leave your home to use the kitchen or bathrooms, you naturally have to interact with your neighbors, which helps build relationships that will help our residents for years after they’ve graduated to more traditional housing.

Our focus will be on the most vulnerable demographics in our population, the youngest and the oldest people facing homelessness. The city of Tucson keeps a registry of homeless individuals to help deliver assistance and resources to those in need. We will use this existing database to supply our tenants.

Our villages all have a strict ban on drugs, alcohol, and violent behavior. While residents won’t be required to be sober to stay with us, they cannot use or keep drugs within the confines of their village, and 24/7 on-site security will enforce this.

Many, many people experiencing homelessness turn to drugs as a way to escape the constant stress from violence, theft of their belongings, and abuse. A safe, stable home is the key to no longer needing this coping mechanism.

In addition to stable housing being one of the four major dimensions of recovery, ample research shows that housing programs improve outcomes for people recovering from addiction. Positive outcomes among participants include decreased substance use, reduced likelihood of return to use, lower rates of incarceration, higher income, improved employment, and healthier family relationships. Housing First is the keystone to all of it!

We will have “family units” available in the future, large enough to handle 2-3 persons in a single space. Our initial village will not be big enough to handle these larger homes. Donate today and the more money we can raise the sooner we can build these larger homes too!

This is a common myth.

A survey in the city of Seattle’s 2016 Homeless Needs Assessment report echoed what homeless folks have said about wanting to accept a place to live. 93 percent of survey respondents reported they would move inside if safe, affordable housing were available. A recent survey of approximately 140 tent encampment residents in Boston showed 95 percent “would be willing to leave their tents for housing, if it were available.”

Brian Peterson, founder of Faces of Santa Ana, shared, “I’ve actually never met any person that has wanted to be homeless, quite the opposite. They often share stories with me of how difficult it is to be homeless. How difficult it is to not have a good night’s rest. How difficult it is to be woken up every hour throughout the night telling you to move to a different place.”

Average rent prices in the Tucson have priced people into the streets. To afford a one-bedroom rental on minimum wage, a person has to work 86 hours per week. About half of homeless persons work full or part time jobs and still cannot afford to live anywhere. (source USICH)

Most residents will not be asked to pay any rent. Some residents with jobs may be asked to pay a trivial rent in the future as part of a financial literacy program, but the income from such programs would be kept minimal in order to keep as much money in our residents’ pockets as possible.