LA opens its first tiny home village to ease homeless crisis

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amy Skinner took notice when brightly colored structures started taking shape earlier this year on a drab patch of asphalt across from a Los Angeles park where she occasionally slept outdoors.

Skinner, who's been homeless for three years, watched as workers built a fence with a security gate and transformed the city-owned property into LA's first tiny home village offering interim housing and services for people who lack shelter.

Then in early February, Skinner was handed the keys to one of the 39 prefab units at the one-acre plot in a North Hollywood neighborhood. She and her partner, John Golka, moved into the 64-square-foot (6-square-meter) space with their little dog, Smalls.

It's cramped but comfortable inside their temporary home — with four windows, two beds, shelving and an A/C unit. The inscription on the welcome mat at the front door captures their new mood: “This is our happy place.”

“Being able to lock the door and have a place to sleep is huge," Skinner, 48, said after a morning smoke with other new residents in the community’s shared outdoor space. Bright red picnic tables stood nearby and a “hygiene trailer” with toilets and showers was just steps away.

“Just being able to fall asleep! That's so hard to do when you're on the streets," she said.

Tiny homes have been promoted as the solution to all kinds of housing needs — an affordable option in expensive big cities and simplicity for people who want to declutter their lives. They are increasingly used as shelter for homeless people in other California cities, including San Jose and Sacramento, as well as nationally in Seattle, Minneapolis and Des Moines, Iowa.

Chandler Street village was developed and funded by Los Angeles as part of an emergency response to the...