KKTV – Tiny home community opens in Colorado Springs in effort to combat housing crisis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) –Working Fusion at Mill Street, a tiny home village meant to provide housing for at-risk young adults, opened in downtown Colorado Springs on Thursday.

The project is the first development of nonprofit WeFortify, and project leaders said it is only the first of a number of plans in place to address the housing crisis in Colorado.

The community had nine tiny homes when it opened on Thursday, and leaders said they are looking to add nine more as soon as possible.

WeFortify’s founder and CEO Shelley Jensen said that the goal of the community is to create a change that lasts, even though residents can only stay in the homes for up to two years.

“This isn’t just affordable housing,” Jensen said when talking about programs residents are expected to participate in as part of their experience. “We’re focused on whole human growth, and we really want you to participate in trauma-informed care, we’d like you to participate in life skills education, just filling in the blanks where it may not have happened as you were growing up.”

Residents are expected to have jobs, pay rent and participate in the community while living in one of the homes. Jensen emphasized that the community is not “just an affordable housing environment,” it’s “a programmed affordable housing environment.”

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said he believes projects like this can not only help with homelessness in the city, but they can also be a benefit to the neighborhoods they are built in.

“This is something that can help us take people who otherwise might be homeless, get them housing and get them moving forward in their lives towards employment,” Suthers said.

Read the full article and view the video here: https://www.kktv.com/2022/10/20/tiny-home-community-opens-colorado-springs-effort-combat-housing-crisis/