OFFERING PEOPLE PRIVACY, STABILITY, AND DIGNITY

Waters Meet Foundation’s pilot tiny home village aims to help residents safely transition out of homelessness.

Why Tiny Homes?

Waters Meet is committed to providing shelter and facilitating residents’ transition into longer-term housing, with the goal of launching the pilot bridge housing community this fall before cold weather increases risk for people living outside.

This project reflects years of engagement with Spokane’s unhoused community and service providers. Well managed tiny home villages have been shown to reduce crime and improve public health. Neighboring communities, including Missoula and Walla Walla, have successfully launched similar models, helping residents safely transition out of homelessness.

Caption: An example of a pallet shelter village in Kelowna, British Columbia.

PROJECT PARAMETERS

Providing personal shelters while looking to inform future housing initiatives.

Waters Meet will be installing thirty tiny home or micro-shelter units, along with shared facilities and case management services, on Foundation-owned property in Spokane’s West Hills. The site meets accessibility and shelter siting guidelines, since it lies on a public transit line, is not within 1000 feet of a school, and is already zoned to allow for temporary shelters.

The homes are temporary structures and can be moved. As part of the pilot, we are using models from both Pallet Shelter and the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), so we can evaluate the comfort and performance of each unit type to inform future projects.

FUNDING

This project was funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, administered by the Washington State Commerce Department through the Encampment Resolution Project. That funding was utilized to purchase the shelters.

OPERATOR

The operator has not yet been selected. This project is intended to be part of the existing network of shelters that the City has already funded and the operator selection process will be decided by the city.

POPULATION

Waters Meet is not responsible for selecting the residents whom this tiny home community will serve. This will be determined once the City of Spokane has selected an operator.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Supporting a community of good neighbors.

As required by City law, a Good Neighbor Agreement will be established for the tiny home village, including regular points of contact for community members, and Waters Meet looks forward to collaborating with neighbors to reduce any potential community impacts from this project. Additionally, we are committed to keeping the property clean and ensuring respectful behavior.

We will share additional information as it becomes available here:

October 3: New Roots Village is currently in the SEPA Process. We will update more info here soon.

September: The City of Spokane has released a Request for Proposals outlining the qualifications for service providers interested in operating the New Roots Tiny Home Village.

New Roots Village Request for Proposals Document

Read our July 31 presentation to West Hills community members:

Presentation slides from July 31

Read our response to community questions from West Hills neighbors:

West Hills Neighborhood Q&A

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