From Austin and Seattle to Minneapolis and Denver, and right here in Tucson at the U of A’s Drachman Institute, The Homing Project is part of a growing national movement addressing homelessness through micro-cabin villages. When The Homing Project’s Village #1 opens in October it will be the first active micro-village in Tucson, but it will build on the success of programs throughout the country.
- The Low Income Housing Institute in Seattle operates or supports 18 tiny-house villages in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Skyway, and Tukwila. LIHI partners with neighbors, volunteers, community groups, non-profits, faith organizations, businesses, rotary clubs, and schools that help support the program participants with donations and meals. These 18 villages support over 2,000 people annually. Learn more at: https://www.lihihousing.org/tinyhouses
- Avivo Village in Minneapolis is the first-ever indoor community of 100 tiny houses that provide shelter and wraparound services to individuals experiencing homelessness in a climate where cold can kill. Since its opening in December 2020, the village has served for than 851 individuals and has seen 343 move on to permanent, safe housing. Learn more at: https://avivomn.org/avivovillage/
- Community First! Village in Austin, a development of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, takes the micro-home concept in a different direction. It is a master planned neighborhood that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women who are coming out of chronic homelessness. Learn more at: https://mlf.org/community-first/
- Other communities in Colorado, Oregon and beyond are joining the movement. Click here to explore.
Elsewhere in Tucson, other projects are pioneering innovative approaches to building shelters suitable for villages of transitional housing:
- Tucson Hope Factory’s executive director Chuck Dunn saw what was happening in Seattle and got in touch with the Drachman Institute at the University of Arizona. This led to an award winning senior capstone studio where 16 students designed and built physical prototypes of micro shelters to address Tucson’s environment. Researchers are now partnering with Primavera Foundation to find a viable site for a village. Learn more at: https://alumni.arizona.edu/arizona-magazine/summer-2026/it-takes-micro-shelter-village
- Nonprofit Boxes of Hope CEO Beau Phillips collaborated with Apostolic Deliverance Ministry, and UA’s Drachman Institute on a project where students converted a 40-ft shipping container into a tiny home. Learn more at: https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/southside-news/ua-architecture-students-design-build-shipping-container-microshelter-addressing-homelessness
In February 2026, Tucson adopted an emergency declaration regarding homelessness. This allowed for an increase in flexibility of building codes and the new designation of micro-cabins. These changes will pave the way for the development of such villages as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing the number of individuals living without shelter.
The Homing Project is happy to be part of this growing effort to provide safe, dignified shelter for those impacted by the shortage of affordable housing in Tucson and throughout the nation.