Big hearts looking to build tiny homes
Sunshine Coast group tackles homeless crisis with plan to finance, construct 46 small houses
A Sunshine Coast group is making plans to build a tiny homes park to help house the area’s growing homeless population.
An 4.45-hectare (11-acre) site just five minutes from the Town of Gibsons could hold up to 46 tiny homes or recreational vehicles, according to organizer Pamela Robertson, a safety services contractor.
“It is undeniable — we have a housing crisis on the Sunshine Coast,” she said. “We have successfully built a tiny house and plan to build many more, that are certified and insurable.”
Her first tiny home — constructed with her mother and since sold — was built with new and recycled materials for about $30,000, excluding labour. The unit is 255 square feet, including a loft, and uses conventional recreational vehicle hookups for power and sewage.
Robertson is putting together a community-based steering committee for the project.
“People have really stepped up, offering their skills and passion,” she said.
The group has started a GoFundMe campaign to begin raising the $1 million needed for the project and volunteer Kelly Riggin is putting together grant proposals to submit to government and philanthropic organizations.
The property will cost $500,000, plus $200,000 to clear the land and install infrastructure for utilities.
The balance will go to building supplies and a metal building to house the construction of tiny homes on site.
Robertson also hopes to purchase several RVs to house as many people as possible, as soon as possible.
The Sunshine Coast has a large community of homeless people who sleep in tents outside Gibsons and Sechelt, as well an established community of people who sleep in cars and vans.
The Coast’s seasonal homeless shelter has been housed in the annex of St. Hilda’s Anglican Church for several years, but that space is too small to meet demand.
The actual number of homeless is unknown, but a report to the Sunshine Coast Regional District cites a 2007 survey that identified 240 homeless people, many of them with substance abuse and mental health problems.
Advocates for the homeless say the numbers have risen in recent years as rooms, cottages and apartments are increasingly filled with tourists through short-term rental sites.
“I know people personally who are being affected by the housing crunch, some of them are couch-surfing and they have small children,” said Robertson.
“Landlords are putting properties out on Airbnb. That’s becoming really prevalent.”
She hopes her idea can put a dent in the Coast’s housing crisis.