Inside the new tiny home village that provides 50 homes for residents to live rent-free

A new little cottage village of 50 colorful homes has begun welcoming its first residents.

Located in Olympia, Washington, the community provides free accommodations to those in need.

Franz Anderson Tiny Home Village is the newest community of its kind in the United States.

This week, the village of 50 homes began receiving its first residents, all of whom had previously suffered from homelessness.

Residents were moved from homeless camps along Interstate 5 to the clean, colorful village of small homes.

Made possible by funding from the American Rescue Pan Act, the village also offers on-site meals, hygiene facilities and community spaces.

It’s part of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s Right-of-Way Initiative, which aims to clean up dangerous homeless encampments.

Although the homes at Franz Anderson Tiny Home Village are small, they have enough space for a single bed, a seating area, and a desk.

Inslee posted several photos on Instagram over the weekend showing the colorful homes with well-insulated windows and doors.

However, the program will need to obtain more funding if it is able to continue providing housing beyond January 2024.

“We will need more funding to continue this right-of-way initiative,” Inslee told KOMO News.

“We’re basically out. We’ve exhausted our lead for the ones we had planned now.

“We need people to do the construction, we need people to do the outreach. We need law enforcement so we can help.”

“We need drug treatment to get these people off the fentanyl scourge. This requires (financial) investment,” he said.

Trust in small

Across the United States, tiny home villages are being used as a way to get people off the streets and into safe housing.

One organization, Hope of the Valley, has seven communities for this purpose in Southern California.

The homes are built identically, allowing them to be built in less than 90 minutes.

Just like Franz Anderson, these communities provide free meals, drug treatments, and mental health support.

But tiny cottage villages are also popular with wealthy Americans who simply want to enjoy a simpler life.

One couple shared how they sold their large luxury home to move to a tiny home village with less possessions.

A new company manufactures and sells luxury tiny homes described as “the most beautiful in the world.”