Arla Shephard Bull

Mason County Life

Homeless veterans in Mason County will soon have an affordable option for shelter: tiny homes.

The nonprofit Panza, responsible for the four-year-old Quixote Village of tiny homes in Thurston County, received $6 million in state capital funds to build two new tiny home villages specifically for homeless veterans — one in Shelton.

Around $3 million will be used to build up to 30 tiny cottages in Shelton, and with the state funding in place, the project is expected to garner even more financial support and will move forward fairly quickly, said Sean McGrady, executive director of Panza and Quixote Village.

McGrady introduced the concept to veterans advocates and state legislators working in Mason County about a year ago, and Sen. Tim Sheldon voiced early support for the project.

“To me, it’s a moral outrage that we have veterans in pop-up tents, living in cars or on the streets,” McGrady said. “They deserve better. We send them to far-off lands, like Afghanistan and Iraq, and we break them. It’s our job to fix them and give them the repair they need.”

Panza has set its sights on three parcels in consideration for the project, all of which are in Shelton.

In Olympia, the issue of where to house and how to help the homeless plagued the community for almost decade — for seven years, a homeless encampment moved from church parking lot to church parking lot every three months, until Quixote Village opened Dec. 24, 2013.

The village includes 30 tiny cottages, all less than 200 square feet and with a porch and partial bathroom, a community building where residents cook meals together and socialize, and a garden where many of the residents have their first vegetables in years.

Residents pay up to one-third of their income toward rent, and many qualify for HUD vouchers from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to cover some of the cost.

Two-full time staff members at Quixote Village provide case management for the residents, helping them apply for jobs, attend college classes, find resources to become sober and, for many residents, move onto new housing. The residents at Quixote Village are not all veterans.

“On average, people stay here about two years,” said Raul Salazar, program manager at Quixote Village. “It doesn’t take long for people to start to feel ownership and pride.”

In Mason County, around 20 veterans identified as homeless in Shelton during the point-in-time homeless count in January, but those counts likely do not reflect the true number of homeless veterans out there who might not come in to be counted for one day, McGrady said.

Across the state, there are more than 2,000 homeless veterans, said Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is heavily involved in Panza’s other upcoming tiny home project for homeless veterans. Panza has already secured land for that project in Orting.

“The definition of home or housing is something a lot of people struggle with,” said Alvarado-Ramos said of Quixote Village. “A definition of a home or a house can be something like this, a place where you can close the door behind you, that gives you privacy and dignity.”

Many veterans become homeless because of extenuating circumstance, not because they are lazy or aren’t trying hard enough, Alvarado-Ramos noted.

One veteran in Snohomish County recently lost his home of 15 years because rent rose by $500 in one year and then he had medical concerns that put him in the hospital, she said.

“Mental health, losing a job and then losing your family and having to pay child support, the rising cost of rent, job income stagnation, these are all reasons why homelessness can happen,” Alvarado-Ramos said. “Housing unavailability and housing unaffordability is a perfect storm.”

With the state funding, McGrady expects to be able to secure other grants to help the project in Mason County, which isn’t as far along in fundraising as the Orting project.

The cost to build a community building will be around $700,000, while the cottages are about $20,000 each. The community building is essential so that residents get to know one another and come out of their isolation, McGrady said.

Panza also wants enough funds to hire full-time staff right away.

“We will catch up quickly in Mason County now that we have the green light,” McGrady said. “This is exciting. Everyone is looking for a model that works. We are one option. One option that works well.”