Extended Interview with CEO of HomesFirst Andrea Urton

What impact do you think these tiny homes will have on the homeless?

The Bridge Housing Project are technically not tiny homes.  They are sleeping cabins with electricity and not plumbing.  There will be 40 of these on each site with a shared Kitchen, Laundry facility, bathroom/showers and meeting space.  The site will also include a dog park and garden area with outdoor gathering space.  Habitat for Humanity will build out the sites and HomeFirst will provide the operations and services.  There will be a max of 3 sites and a minimum of one.  The City of San Jose will have 3 sites identified by the end of January.  The project will have a max capacity of 120 cabins and with the over 4,000 homeless folks in San Jose each night the impact is not large overall.  But on the 120 plus folks who will be served the impact will be life changing.

What counterarguments do you have for people who oppose tiny homes?

I hear and understand their concerns.  However, homelessness has reached crisis levels in our great City and we need to start thinking differently about this issue if we are going to find solutions.  Many of the people are opposing the project out of fear.  What it will mean for them and their families in their neighborhoods.  But what they don’t realize is that the average homeless person is not on drugs or mentally ill.  They are the working poor, the receptionist where you work living in her car with her children.  The janitor at your school who is sleeping at the shelter.  Or a formerly homeless youth who is now the CEO of a local nonprofit (yes me).  These folks will not negatively impact any neighborhood but add to it with their success.

How do you think the tiny homes will affect the surrounding community (ie safety, crime)?

Again, this is a stigma that homeless people face.  Just because you are homeless does not mean that you are a criminal and until we change this misconception/injustice there can be no justice the people stigmatized by homelessness

How will you decide where the tiny homes will be built?

The City of San Jose with partners such as the Water District, CalTrans and the VTA have identified 123 sites and are currently using a matrix to screen them to see which 3 are appropriate for the project.