Questions Answered: Tiny Homes Sale Will Help Vulnerable Youth

tiny homes olympia
Tiny homes sale will provide much-needed resources for YouthBuild.
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By Barb Lally

van dorm sponsorWhen Community Youth Services (CYS) recently announced the sale of three “tiny homes,” it generated huge interest and many inquiries about the homes. To date, all are still for sale.

CYS would like to answer the questions about the homes so that readers are fully informed of their value and features and can help in the effort to find their new purpose.

tiny homes olympia
Tiny homes sale will provide much-needed resources for YouthBuild.

The sale of the homes will result in a contribution to the non-profit organization’s YouthBuild students, the very ones who helped build the homes in 2011. YouthBuild in Thurston County is a life-changing experience for vulnerable youth that provides much-needed life training along with valuable work experience in the construction trades.

“Many of these youth have had barriers to getting a job or going to school,” says Lynsi Polanco, development director for CYS. “The YouthBuild program helps them get an education and certifications to get a job, breaking down those barriers as they learn new habits. If students don’t follow the strict structure, they are removed from the program. The program is life-changing for these youth, as will be the funds used to help them along the way.”

Why were these tiny homes built?

The homes were originally designed as housing for the homeless, a project intended for the early stages of Quixote Village.

tiny homes olymipa
The interiors provide the basic structure that the new owners can customize.

“Quixote Village was the vision of a self-governing tent camp of homeless adults in Olympia,” explains Lynsi. “The Village consists of 30 tiny cottages, a large vegetable garden and a community building that contains showers, laundry facilities, a communal kitchen and living and dining space. Our tiny houses were constructed with that community model in mind, the main reason they were built as a shell for basic shelter.”

Lynsi explains that later in the planning process, it was decided that more permanent structures were desired for the Village, rather than the homes built on portable utility trailers.

What are the features of the tiny homes and how could they be used?

Though their purpose may change, CYS believes the well-made homes can be put to great use.

Each of the homes is 77 square feet, 13’6” tall and 8’6” wide and is custom-built on a double axle utility trailer, within legal limits for road travel and weighing about 6,000 lbs. They can be pulled behind any truck that is able to pull this weight and has a tow package.

All have room for two cots and include a porch, windows, a skylight, electrical outlets and a 1,000 watt electric heater. The doors on the homes can be locked. The homes can be hooked up to a generator or extension cord plugged into a 110v outlet.

The interiors of the homes have a very basic structure, but they provide a blank canvas for the buyer to customize for their new purpose. “They would be a great start for someone looking to make it their own unique space,” says Lynsi.

tiny homes olympia
YouthBuild students get life-changing training in construction trades.

Chad Landsiedel and Rae Anne Toth, both Realtors with Keller Williams Realty South Sound, have volunteered to help market the tiny homes. They have come up with some unique ideas for their use including a portable hunting, fishing or camping cabin, an espresso stand, a vending station or for use as guest quarters by campground owners.

Who built them and are they built well?

The homes, originally designed for transitional housing for the homeless and built with sustainability techniques, were a project that gave the students green-building construction training and a mission to serve the community. YouthBuild’s construction instructors Matt Newton and Tim Stender oversaw the project.

“Our youth put a lot of muscle into these and crafted them to the highest standards under our program’s oversight,” says Newton. “We worked with green builders and homeless advocates to show how a small sleeping unit can be built in a sustainable way. There are a lot of ways these homes can be used.”

Why are you selling them rather than giving them to a good cause?

The proceeds from the sale will recoup what was spent building them. It will contribute to resources for YouthBuild students, a worthy cause that provides at-risk youth opportunities to succeed in life.

CYS is not making additional money off the sale. It is estimated that the cost of building these homes could easily amount to $30,000 to $40,000. In the end, the buyers will save at least $20,000. Most of the material, time and labor costs have been covered in the initial build. The asking price of $10,000 is simply to recoup those costs.

tiny homes olympia
Each home has windows, a door that locks, a skylight, a porch and more!

“With federal funding, we are restricted on how we can spend money,” explains Lynsi. “These funds will allow us to better help these youth with basic necessities like transportation, food, utilities, work readiness and secondary education expenses. It will also provide resources between grant cycles or where the grant use is limited, such as helping YouthBuild students with medical or child care.”

Community Youth Services has been helping South Sound’s most vulnerable youth for over 40 years. YouthBuild is one of twenty programs at CYS that are integrated to better serve homeless, runaway, abused and at-risk youth.

CYS serves over 4,000 youth and families each year, primarily in Thurston, Pierce, Lewis, Mason, Kitsap and Grays Harbor counties, working to end homelessness, prevent delinquency and school failure, break the cycle of child abuse and neglect and promote mental health.

If you are interested in buying the homes, or would like to share your ideas with how the homes could be used, please contact Lynsi Polanco at lpolanco@communityyouthservices.org or call her at (360) 918-7822.

 

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