Columbia’s homeless may have new housing options

COLUMBIA, Mo-An open meeting was held by the American Tiny Home Association on Sunday afternoon to discuss bringing tiny homes to the city.

Typically, a tiny home is described as a house that is no bigger than 400 square feet. They are a growing trend all over the States as a way for people to downsize their lives and an option to house the homeless.

As of right now, Columbia’s zoning laws do not allow tiny homes to be counted as residences but officials are working to change them.

Columbia city officials believe that unlike shelters, the homes will provide a sense of responsibility to the homeless community.

2nd Ward Councilman, Michael Trapp said, “Definitely creating more stock of affordable housing is a better answer to homelessness than shelters. So what I like about tiny homes is that they’re a step towards permanent housing solutions. I think its something that we want to explore.”

The group, Central Missouri Community Action surveyed the homeless in Columbia to see if this was something that they would be interested in, there was an overwhelming number who said yes.

The Missouri State Coordinator for the American Tiny Home Association, Steve Edison said that the time to act on this is now, “There are un-zoned counties and communities that these could be placed now so the real opportunity for communities like Columbia is to be first to market and take advantage of this ever growing demand for tiny homes.”

On June 25th and 26th the Tiny Home Association will host an event in Columbia for people to view different makes and models of the houses.