Peek Inside North Hollywood's Newest Tiny Home Village

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — More tiny homes are coming to North Hollywood. Hope of the Valley officially unveiled their latest tiny home village in Alexandria Park, just behind Victory Outreach Church along the 170 Freeway.

Hope of the Valley CFO Rowan Vansleve credits Councilman Paul Krekorian with finding the site that would soon become the largest tiny home village in all of California. The location underwent a massive cleanup and transformation ahead of the opening, with organizers able to turn it from a potential health hazard into a place of restoration.

"This was an encampment with over 300 people, there was a lot of human waste, the park had kind of been destroyed," Vansleve said. "When they started doing the cleanup, they filled 5 44-gallon drums with syringes they'd found. There was a poor gentleman who'd died on the embankment here in a tent, and had started to decay. No one had noticed its death. [Krekorian] came and has taken what was really a humanitarian crisis into a site that will put over 200 people inside."

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The first thing you'll notice when walking onto the grounds is the bright colors. Vansleve and Hope of the Valley wanted the site to feel as warm as possible, and the large swatches of yellow, pink and blue certainly go a long way toward creating that feeling. Going further, the site also includes communal dining areas, a small park, and even a dog run for four-legged companions to get some exercise.

The cabins themselves have two beds each, and will be single-person occupancy during the pandemic unless people are entering as a couple or family. Although only 64 square feet in size, each cabin offers heating and A/C, power outlets and artwork, and perhaps most importantly: security.

When Hope of the Valley opened their first tiny home village along Chandler Blvd in February, Vansleve was struck by how important the locking door was for so many of the site's residents.

"One particular woman shared with me that she was unable to sleep the first few nights, and that was when she realized how traumatized she was," Vansleve said about feedback he's heard from the first tiny home village. "The only thing that kept her feeling safe was that locking door."

Residents of the village will be under a curfew, and drugs and weapons will not be allowed inside. For those ready to move off the streets but not yet ready to give up any restricted items, lockers will be provided at the front of the village, where residents can check out their items anytime they're leaving the village.

“If you are willing to move forward in your plan, you can be here," Vansleve said about the rules. "If you’re harming anyone, you won’t be here. All the gray area in the middle, we’ll work through it together."

Unhoused residents began moving into the village in groups of 20 to avoid causing too much stress to potentially traumatized residents. Hope of the Valley gave first access to people living within three miles of the site, working with Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority, L.A. Family Housing and other groups to prioritize people with the greatest need for housing.

Once inside, residents will receive a hot shower and meal, and then sit down with a case manager to determine their best path forward. While some may stay at the site for as long as six months, a few residents at the Chandler Boulevard site have already been placed into permanent supportive housing, less than two months after the village opened in February.

"From day one, we want everyone to have the same outcome, and that's permanent supportive housing," Vansleve said. "The only failure is someone returning to the streets.

Throughout the pandemic, Hope of the Valley has stepped up in a big way to house the homeless and create a pathway to permanent housing. The organization started the year with 507 beds, and is on track to end the year with over 1200 beds.

Despite that significant growth, however, they expect their housing waiting list to be just as long when 2021 comes to a close.

"The way I process it: I have a 10 year old daughter, her and my son are my world. I want them to grow up in a place where people are treated with dignity and we do the right thing as a people," Vansleve said. "If someone has an addiction, I would prefer them getting treatment somewhere inside at a place like this."

"When we leave them on the streets and abandon them, then it becomes criminal and violent, and a risk to everyone," he continued. "My daughter should be able to go to a park and not witness a mentally ill person struggling through their condition, or someone battling addiction, who's overdosing in the park, because they should be inside. Morally, economically, and from a public safety point of view, this is the only way: bring people inside."

READ MORE: Largest Tiny Home Community In California To Open This Month

Valley Men Run 125-Mile 'Ultra Marathon' To Stop Homelessness

To learn more about what Hope of the Valley is doing to end homelessness, visit @hopeofthevalley on Instagram.