Tiny home village set to welcome homeless people in Tarzana

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Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Tiny home village set to welcome homeless people in Tarzana
Los Angeles city councilmen spent the night at a newly constructed Tiny Home Village in Tarzana that is set to welcome homeless people starting in July.

TARZANA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two Los Angeles city councilmen spent the night at a newly constructed Tiny Home Village in Tarzana that is set to begin welcoming homeless people in July.

The cabin community consists of 75 small homes, 150 beds, 10 bathrooms and 10 showers.

Councilmen Bob Blumenfield and Kevin De Leon were security-screened at the location Monday before starting their sleepover for the night.

"I'm excited about today, tonight to get that first-hand experience, what it's like to live ... I know it's a different experience -- for me it's one day out of my life, for other folks it's that transition, but it will give me a taste," Blumenfield said.

Leaders hope the 64-square-foot houses give the homeless somewhere to stay off the street.

Emergency homeless shelter at LA Mission in Skid Row to be remodeled

The Los Angeles Mission, a non-profit in Skid Row helping the homeless, broke ground Monday as it begins to remodel their emergency shelter.

"You can't even compare it to sleeping in a tent on cement concrete or asphalt in the park, in an alleyway on the street or even in your car," De León said.

The houses themselves are pre-fabricated and can be set up quickly. There are two beds in every house with electrical outlets and Wi-Fi.

"We think that it's really important that the solution come from the population that it's intended to serve, which is why people who have experienced homelessness designed these shelters," Brandon Bills, a spokesperson for Pallet, a company whose "portable and affordable shelters are a stepping stone out of personal crisis," according to its website.