An estimated three in ten Americans who are homeless also suffer from serious mental illness (SMI), an indication of the acute lack of affordable, stable housing for some of our society’s most vulnerable members. An innovative project, funded by a grant from Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, hopes to use micro-housing configured with supportive services and nearby amenities to help overcome this problem in North Carolina and nationally.
A public/private partnership between Cross Disability Services, Inc. (XDS) and The School of Social Work (SSW) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will use a $100,000 grant from Cardinal Innovations to develop “Tiny Homes Village” (THV) whose primary purpose is to offer “well-designed, affordable, permanent homes to support the health and wellbeing of people with SMI.”
According to the grant application, the project will comprise 15 tiny homes, each valued at $50,000 with approximately 350 square feet of living space. The homes will be built in a village with a communal clubhouse, green spaces and ready access to public transportation and a variety of community-based services….read the full article here