MEDFORD, Ore. – The tiny home village model is becoming increasingly popular as a solution to address homelessness. Portland State University recently released a study about the model, prompting NBC5 to ask a local village community how Southern Oregon stacks up.
Tiny home villages are detached bedrooms along with shared facilities including case management services.
In Southern Oregon, Rogue Retreat operates Hope Village in Medford and Foundry Village in Grants Pass.
The Portland State study revealed 86 percent of villagers were largely satisfied with their pod and 69 percent were satisfied with their village. However, 45 percent of villagers still report food insecurity.
While Rogue Retreat didn’t participate in the study, it is paying attention to its findings. Its leaders said those trends are consistent with what they see here in Southern Oregon. It said locally, the tiny home model has proven effective.
Matthew Vorderstrasse serves as Rogue Retreat’s development director. He said, “What we have found with the village model is it allows for you to affordably create a program that can meet people where they are at, deescalate them out of crisis and then from there, that’s when the case management and peer support can really begin having an impact.”
The PSU study surveyed more than 40 residents across six different Portland tiny home villages. You can read more about the study on Portland State University’s website.
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