For Women, By Women: A Sisterhood Of Carpenters Builds Tiny Houses For The Homeless

A small low-income housing initiative in Northlake, Seattle has been making steady headlines since 2018. Built and run by the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and the city of Seattle, the housing initiative has been nationally praised for ingenuity, and dynamic problem-solving. Women at the heart and soul of the project also made this housing initiative unique. 

Seattle’s Housing Crisis

To understand why housing initiatives are important in the city of Seattle, one must realize the extent of homelessness in the growing northwest city.

Since 2000, the cost of rent in Seattle has increased by 65% and home prices have more than doubled. Currently, Seattle is believed to be the city with the fastest-growing cost of living in all of America. Many low- and middle-income families have been forced to leave the city, as they just can’t simply afford to live there anymore. Homelessness does not equate unemployment either in Seattle, with a substantial number of people living without fixed addresses still reporting to workplaces.

LIHI’s executive director Sharon Lee told WUSA9, “People are being priced out of very basic housing,” and “We have so many people that have fallen into homelessness, or at the very edge of becoming homeless because of rent increases … they are literally being squeezed out of the home that they have lived in for 10-20 years. You could have multiple housing code violations and you could still not afford to live there.”

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So what is the trigger behind this demand for housing? Some homeless advocates blame the internet tycoon Amazon. The company has surged the number of high-wage tech workers and company executives living within the city, which currently serves as Amazon’s world headquarters.

A Tiny, But Big Idea

Driven by the need for a quick and cost-effective solution to homelessness, the city of Seattle has been experimenting with the idea of tiny house villages since 2017. When Mayor Jenny Durkan was elected and took the Seattle office in 2018, she put thought into action and began planning tiny house villages citywide. Over the next two years, the city of Seattle and LIHI opened a total of ten tiny house villages, hoping to better serve the homeless in both their need for emergency shelter and transition to permanent shelters.

As a housing initiative, the premise behind Tiny House villages is very simple. To build a tiny house village, approximately 6,000 to 30,000 square feet of vacant private, government, church-owned, or non-profit land is required. Then, volunteers and city officials work to construct the village over four to six months. Once open, residents are moved in with the idea that their stay will be short-term. They’re given a code of conduct to follow, provided community duties (clean-up, security, etc.), and a case manager offers employment and community services.

Each tiny house village can range from 15 to 34 houses, and has a shared community kitchen, meeting area, and bathrooms.

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Women4Women

The first of the tiny house villages opened in Seattle was Whittier Heights Village. This village was special (beyond being the first), as the 15 tiny houses were designed exclusively for and by women. Alice Lockridge and Melinda Nichols, each with over 30 years of experience, led the project and taught other women how to build the homes.

As women are often not welcome in the carpentry and construction professions, Lockridge dubbed this work on the tiny village as the Women4Women initiative. Many volunteers involved with the build said the work site was a refreshing change from traditional builds. Women, wanting each other to succeed, actively supported and mentored one another during tiny house construction.

With an estimated 35% of all people living homeless in Seattle/King County being women, the tiny houses were also an important step for the women who would be living there. “It gives them a lock and a door. It gives them privacy,” Nichols said about the village. The women working behind the scenes with the Women4Women initiative also made the homes especially welcoming – knowing what they would want in a new home. For instance, new toiletries were provided on move-in to each resident and the homes were adorned with flower baskets – adding to the village’s feminine vibe.

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Welcome To Whittier Heights Village

In July 2018, Whittier Heights Village opened to residents. Women who were either pregnant, newly postpartum, senior, or living in same-sex relationships moved from the streets to the tiny homes. The 100 square feet tiny houses quickly became home to residents. Thus far, the project is succeeding, but the poor outcomes seen at other tiny house villages in Seattle, like Northlake, will continue to bring attention to what is occurring at Whittier Heights. The hope, which is likely shared between most women, is that the project will flourish and expand housing opportunities for women across America.

*Article originally appeared at Healthy Holistic Living.