MUNCIE — A nonprofit group is planning to build what is believed to be the state's first village of tiny houses for the homeless.
While tiny house reality television shows flaunt ingenious structures in spaces no larger than 500 to 600 square feet, the Muncie project will provide less than 100 square feet per house.
"It's better than a cardboard box," says local government planner Fred Daniel, who attended this year's American Planning Association annual conference in Phoenix. One of the sessions dealt with the growing popularity of affordable "micro-houses" (between 60 and 200 square feet) and "micro-villages" for "un-housed people." Daniel added: "It gives them a space of their own. They can close the door and get away from people."
Bridges Community Services is seeking a variance from the Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals for a micro-village of six houses, each 96 square feet, near the intersection of Eighth and Liberty streets, behind the Bridges office.
"Right now I am housing three hard-to-house individuals in our emergency shelter and we have found some people under the bridges and we do have people sleeping in the waiting rooms at the hospital," says Susie Kemp, Bridges director. "I'm not telling you there are a lot of them, but I'm not telling your there are none, either."
The state of Indiana's latest annual homeless count found 5,863 people without a home on Jan. 28, 2015; of those, 582 were "un-sheltered/on the streets." Nearly 800 of the 5,863 were veterans. Many in the overall group were victims of mental illness, substance abuse or domestic violence. Delaware County counted 190 homeless people.