Suquamish Tribe looks to address homelessness on reservation with tiny houses

Thursday, September 21, 2017  

The Suquamish Tribe is taking a unique approach to homelessness on its reservation in Washington.

The tribe is hosting six tiny houses that will be used as temporary shelters, The Kitsap Sun reported. The goal is to help people get back on their feet.

“We felt there was an underserved population that this was appropriate for,” Chairman Leonard Forsman told the paper. “We wanted to have something that was easier to deliver in a timely manner and would address some of the more emergency situations as well. It gives us more flexibility in providing temporary housing.”

The tribe began looking at tiny houses after officials in Kitsap County announced a similar project to address housing conditions. But the county's houses have yet to be installed due to some controversy, the paper said.

Forsman brought up the tiny house movement in his chairman's report in the January 2017 issue of Suquamish News, the tribe's newspaper. The tribe was able to move faster on its project than the county.

Read More on the Story:
Suquamish Tribe launching 'tiny house' homeless community (The Kitsap Sun September 20, 2017)