On Thanksgiving, the Flood family could be cooking inside their new home, a retired school bus outfitted with a kitchen, bedroom, bunks and bathroom. With 220 square feet of living space, they can finally spread out under one roof.

Before the bus was available to them, the family of five was living in their car.

Many people who are homeless have income to pay reasonable rent, but not moving expenses and security deposits, said Julie Akins, a newly elected Ashland city council member who founded the nonprofit Vehicles for Changes to help Oregon's 20,000 homeless children have a safe place to sleep.

Akins, who has spent hundreds of hours interviewing people without a home, wanted to find a solution that was practical, low cost and legal. Her research led her to the surplus of school buses.

These long, steel vehicles, which sell for about $3,000 or are given away, can become self-contained, mobile shelters.

School buses have diesel engines built to last 1 million miles and since they get 15 miles to the gallon, they make it possible for people to move to find work.

"They're ready to go," Akins said.

And it's legal to live full-time in a bus converted into an RV on some private land and in RV or mobile home park. UPDATED: Portland allows RVs and tiny homes on wheels to be occupied on commercial properties, as well as single family or duplex residential properties (not multifamily apartment buildings or vacate lots) with conditions.

The Flood family became homeless when their rent escalated and after the mom, Jennifer, was hospitalized for a serious bleeding ulcer and she missed work. They're hopeful they can turn their life back around if they can keep expenses low.

They will rent space for the converted bus at the Jackson Wellsprings in Ashland, paying $450 a month, which includes water and electricity.

If they want to, they can lease to own the 1993 Carpenter bus, which was only driven 126,000 miles before it was sold to Vehicles for Changes.

The nonprofit's supporters see the Floods' home -- what they call, the first Forever Home Skoolie -- as a model. Five more conversions are scheduled for next year.

Akins hopes to keep costs to $25,000 to make a bus a home.

Two buses, donated by the Ashland School District, are waiting to be renovated and the rehab process should be faster than the months builder Cody Armond calculates he invested in the first one.

Armond, the nonprofit's only paid employee, served as the designer, contractor and carpenter. He was aided by building professionals and volunteers. He has converted school buses into what are called "skoolies" before, but he put extra time and care into creating this one.

Some materials were gifted and some of the wood was salvaged. People can donate at vehiclesforchanges.com.

HISTORY OF 'SKOOLIES'

School bus conversions are not new. In the 1960s hippie heyday, Ken Kesey and his Merry Band of Pranksters crossed the country in a 1939 International Harvester bus. The 2012 documentary, "I'm Fine, Thanks," profiled a family living in a school bus. And what kid glued to TV sit coms in the 1970s can forget the 1957 Chevrolet school bus used during the filming of the original "Partridge Family" show?

Over the years, the online forum Skoolie.net has racked up about 300,000 posts, offering step-by-step conversion tutorials and information on adding electricity, running water and insulation, and the benefits of alternative fuels.

As simplified living and the tiny house movement continue to capture attention, and people search for inexpensive housing, skoolies are finding a larger audience.

Surplus yards, auctions, Craigslist and eBay sell old buses. Akins would like to negotiate directly with school districts, since schools know firsthand the impact of homelessness on children.

Although the National Transportation Safety Board once recommended retired school buses to be stripped of stop arms and warning signals -- and some states require it -- and many converted buses are painted a color other than School Bus Yellow, you can't disguise their familiar form.

Still, each one is customized to please its owners, whether the 40-footer is intended for camping getaways or as a primary house.

THE FIRST FOREVER HOME SKOOLIE

The walls and ceiling of the first Forever Home Skoolie have been insulated to reduce heat loss. An outside hose hooks up to the water source and the hot water heater works on demand. It's wired for solar panels.

To have the old school bus feel like a home, the walls are covered in silver-veined, reclaimed pallet wood. A new range with four gas burners sits next to kitchen cabinets topped with stone-like counters. A refrigerator fits in a long open closet.

"It's like a baby condo," said Leo Gorcey of Vehicles for Changes, pointing to the built-in bench with colorful cushions. Tan and blue curtains will be hung over about two dozen windows.

The entry doors and windows are original, but gone are the school bus seats where Akins discovered discarded pencils, marbles, notes "and lots of gum wrappers," she said, laughing.

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Flood family came to visit their soon-to-be home.

Raylee, 10, and David Jr., 8, lifted the base of their bunk beds to find tidy compartments for their books, as brother Noah, 18 months, opened and closed cabinet doors.

Parents David and Jennifer Flood have a bedroom at the back of the bus. Nearby is a tiled shower. Up front, a wall-mounted table can be popped up to be used as a desk for homework or surface to eat meals.

Above the entire living area is the original curved ceiling that has been painted pale blue. Clouds might be drawn above the beds. But already, on a half-moon-shaped panel above the driver's seat, there's a mural depicting a strong oak tree.

"It's everything I dreamed about," said Jennifer Flood, looking up, looking around.

—Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com