PORTLAND, Ore. -- One of Portland's first sanctioned homeless camps unveiled four new tiny homes for residents to move into.
Dignity Village, near Northeast 33rd Avenue and Marine Drive, has been around for almost 17 years.
The camp of 53 people is already made up of tiny homes, on an old parking lot for a composting business, but some of those structures are 15 years old and falling apart because they were ramshackled together in the first place.
They're in the process of tearing down some of the old ones that leak, aren't bug- or rodent-proof and aren't insulated from the cold. Wednesday, four cedar-sided homes, complete with double insulated floors and solar panel roofs were unveiled to replace some of those.
They're 120 square-feet inside; enough for a bed, a table and shelves. Dignity Village has a community kitchen and shower area where the restrooms are.
Thanks to materials donated from the non-profit The Rebuilding Center, money from the Trail Blazers organization, and days of work from trades groups, now four people living in this camp, are getting safer new homes.
"This is a cocoon compared to the others. I was in the others and those things are leaky," said Jeff Bruce. No more mice and cold drafts for him. He now has room enough for his bed, belongings and eventually a table. It's double-insulated and warm.
Cameron Marcum, 17, who is getting his GED through Portland Youth Builders, and is on track to become a skilled laborer, helped build them.
"It's awesome. I love the feeling," he said. "I've known a lot of people who are homeless and in the worst of luck, they're in the rain everyday, they get kicked out of places. And it's amazing the feeling of putting a roof over someone's head."
A few miles away, at another well-known homeless camp, Hazelnut Grove on North Greeley Avenue, tiny homes have been working wonders for self respect and feeling human again. Bob Brimmer has lived in one for three years there, and actually helped build the new ones for Dignity Village. The skills he's learned have scored him a $15-per-hour construction job. He plans to save up to transition back into normal housing.
"It's a sense of security I guess. Knowing I can leave my dog here and go and work and not have to worry about her chewing through a rope to go find me is kind of nice. You don't have to worry about going out to find a job because you have to find food, water, shelter and showers."
Dignity Village says now that they have a floor and construction plan to follow, they can build more of these tiny homes a lot faster. They plan to have four more done by September.