((PKG)) TINY HOME LIVING
((TRT: 07:35))
((Topic Banner: A Fresh Start))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Genia Dulot))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
((Main characters: 1 female; 2 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Denise
Tiny Home Village Resident))
Well, this is where I live. It’s a little bit steppy on because I can’t even put my shoes on. Right here, this is where I sleep. So, I got the TV. I got my heater and I got my air conditioning, smoke detector and I am very comfortable here.
((Denise
Tiny Home Village Resident))
I come from Palm Springs. I was living out there for a while, homeless. I was going through a lot of stuff. I lost my son and my other son, he got into some trouble. Some things happened in my personal life. So, I was trying to get out. Just didn’t want to be there no more.
((NATS))
((Denise
Tiny Home Village Resident))
And when I came out here, I was staying at the Union Station for like, maybe, like around four or five days. And then I ran into a friend. And he actually helped me get into the village and we both signed up. And he also stays here too and we both pulled through it.
((NATS))
((Denise
Tiny Home Village Resident))
This is where we eat. We get our breakfast, lunch, dinner. I’ll get some eggs, eggs with bell peppers, cheese and potatoes mixed, or a burrito sometimes, a breakfast burrito, or sometimes we get oatmeal.
((Mitch O’Farrell
Los Angeles Councilmember))
And we call them Tiny Home Villages. There are nine in the city. There are two in my district. This is really a leg up to get people stable, a sense of stability, a sense of purpose and belonging to, you know, a family if you will. Family units are formed here through friendships and really good services that are offered to make sure people understand what it’s going to take to be reincorporated into the mainstream of society. It’s an investment in people. It’s an investment in human beings.
((Tyler Kirkpatrick
Urban Alchemy, Non-profit services))
Here, it allows people to be safe from abuse. It allows people to have their own unit, where they can control the temperature of their space. This is an environment that is set to help people find their dignity and humanity.
((Denise
Tiny Home Village Resident))
That shower right there is neat. They started telling me I had to use it. I couldn’t be using these ones because I am stepping up and down. But this one’s awesome. And then they’re always so clean. Right after you shower, bam! They clean it up. And they always have everything, everything. They got the towel in here, you see? Yeah. They got the handicap chair. I don’t use it but I love that shower head. Darn, that shower head is the bomb!
((NATS: Denise and Reporter))
So, when I shower, I make sure I last like a half an hour, 40 minutes. Yeah.
Do you like it?
I love it.
Yeah?
It’s neat. No interruptions, no nothing. So, it’s pretty cool.
((NATS: Denise, Mitch O’Farrell and Employees))
Hi Denise. How are you?
Fine.
How are you feeling? How are you doing?
I’m feeling okay.
Okay. All right.
I’m trying to get into school but all that education, I don’t know about that one.
You can get there.
Yeah.
You can get there, totally get there. And they have tutors. You have a support system and, you know, we would help you with that as well. So, what are some of the things that you are participating in here?
Here and there.
Yeah.
We’re going to start planting plants.
Planting plants?
Yeah.
I love it. Do you know that I’m a gardener?
Really?
I have a backyard garden. I’ve always loved it and it’s my sanity. It’s a lovely thing to plant something and to see it grow.
Yeah, it is.
So, you are talking vegetables or flowers or both?
I’ve planted vegetables before. Bell peppers, cucumbers and corn.
Well, so you have that space. Let’s look at it because I really think it has potential. And you could do, you know, four feet [1.2 m] and four feet. And you could probably get in, you could probably get in 20 boxes here.
You think so?
And you could even plant something along here, just flowers to grow or something and have the vegetables in front.
((NATS))
((Tyler Kirkpatrick
Urban Alchemy, Non-profit services))
Every person here is an adult over the age of 18. All of them have gotten here through some traumatic experience. We understand that the substance abuse, we understand that alcoholism is an escape from whatever that trauma might be. Transition and model that we have here, it’s low barrier. So, we don’t have curfews. Our guidelines around substance abuse or substance use is very different. We don’t kick anybody out for drinking or for doing drugs. As a matter of fact, what we’ve found in this site is that because we are able to keep people safe through the daily checks, by providing test strips for drugs that people might be taking and when folks are in a space where they feel like they are ready to try something different and maybe fight their addiction, we have staff that are immediately available to help them to take whatever next step that is.
((NATS: Gary Montoya and Mitch O’Farrell))
((Gary Montoya
Urban Alchemy, Non-profit services))
We’re doing everything that we can, according to Urban Alchemy, to help the individual and couples to improve their quality of life. Trust, that’s the biggest issue.
Yeah.
And once they trust, sometimes they cry.
Yeah.
And we kind of sit through it with them as they are telling their story.
Sure.
And by them letting us in, now we are better able and equipped to help them. Some of us, familiar with dealing with bipolar, schizophrenia, and so we know what to look for, how to respond. Okay, you are having a bad day, a down day. So, we are going to be real exceptionally nice.
Yes.
((Gary Montoya
Urban Alchemy, Non-profit services))
Yeah, we are going to bring you your food. We are going to motivate you, going to tell you how good you are doing. I am going to the store. You want a soda? Oh man, you’re going to get me a soda? What kind you want, man? Oh, man.
Yeah.
It’s just a soda. It does wonders.
Sometimes it’s the little things.
((Gary Montoya
Urban Alchemy, Non-profit services))
Now they’re going to see how to do this. He didn’t want a job. Now he wants to get a job.
((Denise
Tiny Home Village Resident))
There’s a place right there, you know, an opportunity to switch things around. You know what I am saying? And to, you know, just go buy it.
((Tyler Kirkpatrick
Urban Alchemy, Non-profit services))
Currently, we see about a, I think, about a six month stay. What’s next can mean a lot of things. For some folks, you know, a Section 8 voucher [subsidized housing] comes in place and they are able to move into their own unit. For some folks, they identify along with us that they need a higher level of care, and so they may go to a facility that has mental health support and things like that. For some person, the next step might be back out on the street. The truth is like that’s okay, right? Because none of this stuff is a perfect science. Because all of this work is hard and if we continue shutting things down because it’s not the perfect answer, we don’t even understand human beings.
((Mitch O’Farrell
Los Angeles Councilmember))
These folks have seen enough trauma. They’ve had great challenges and difficulty in their lives. Everyone deserves to be invested in, so they can reach their potential. That’s what makes a society humane and compassionate.
((NATS: LaShornda Young and Resident))
Yes. You want it hotter than that?
No, it’s okay?
It’s good? Okay, well you can always come back if you need something to eat.
That’s okay. Thank you.
((NATS))