Seattle's newest tiny-house village will shelter 40 homeless families

A village in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood will provide 40 tiny houses for families living on the street.

Three tiny houses – built by a Tulalip Tribe program – were the first to be delivered to the Myrtle Street site Thursday.

Georgetown Village will be managed by Nickelsville, a self-managed community of homeless people.
Nickelsville was the longtime operator of many – now-moved – camps around Seattle, including one on Dearborn Street, which also consisted of a tiny-house community along with tents.

Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) works in partnership with Nickelsville and spoke at the grand opening of the Georgetown Tiny House Village on Thursday.

"Our goal is to move vulnerable people quickly off the streets into warm, secure tiny houses instead of tents,” said Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director.

The start of the Georgetown village comes one day before the City of Seattle releases a report after a survey asked about 1,000 homeless people about what led to their homelessness and what might help them get out of it.

KIRO 7 News will release that report once it is received.

Seattle’s first tiny-house village for homeless opened in January last year in the Central District. The Georgetown Village is one of three new encampment sites like it.

"The difference is you have electricity and a lock on the door," said Steve Tucker, a member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, which is hosting the Central District site. “You have two toilets, which is a big difference from Nickelsville [past camps]. They have porta-potties.”

Cox Media Group