Council backs tiny home community for veterans
Homes for Heroes co-founder Dave Howard is calling Monday a “banner day” for the foundation, after a unanimous decision from city council in support of a tiny home community for homeless veterans in Forest Lawn.
Council approved a land-use redesignation for the site, at 36th Street S.E. and 8th Avenue S.E., to accommodate a community of 15 tiny homes.
The assisted-living development will also include a shared garden and resource centre providing counselling and other services for military veterans.
Howard said after volunteering for 11 days with the Field of Crosses project, he counts Monday as the 12th day of remembrance.
“We’re fortunate to have the Mustard Seed as a partner, and the Mustard Seed has been working with this population for a long time,” he said. “They already have a list of individuals they believe will succeed in the program, and that have shown interest to be a part of this.
“This is a program that sees veterans that want to better themselves and want to heal. We’re dealing with a lot of vets with posttraumatic stress, so that healing process is very important.”
Howard said it’s common for people to encounter post-traumatic stress years after leaving the military.
“All of a sudden there’s a trigger, and when that trigger occurs, a lot of them just walk away from society,” he said.
He noted a key part of the program is peer-to-peer support.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said during the council meeting that he’s excited to see the city experimenting with tiny homes and “seeing how they can work within neighbourhoods.”
“I’m really happy it’s in the middle of a vibrant, thriving neighbourhood,” he said. “I hope this is hugely successful.”
Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said he thinks the project is a great model.
“I think it’s a perfect model and scale for the clientele, veterans who are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and homelessness ... This is a great way to do it, to create a little community inside a community.”
The next steps for the project will include continued construction of the tiny homes by ATCO. Two of the first 275-square-foot homes were unveiled in late October.
The structures include a Murphy bed, washroom, full kitchen and storage space.
Each home in the community will be named in honour of a Canadian military hero.