Homeless Housing Alternatives “From Self-Organized Camps to Tiny House Villages” Andrew Heben Forum in Humboldt County Saturday, November 15, 2014 (11am to 3pm) Eureka Woman’s Club-1531 J Street

Tent City Urbanism “From Self-Organized Camps to Tiny House Villages” explores the intersection of the "tiny house movement" and tent cities organized by the homeless to present an accessible and sustainable housing paradigm that can improve the quality of life for everyone.

While tent cities tend to evoke either sympathy or disgust, the author finds such informal settlements actually address many of the shortfalls of more formal responses to homelessness. Tent cities often exemplify self-management, direct democracy, tolerance, mutual aid, and resourceful strategies for living with less. This book presents a vision for how cities can constructively build upon these positive dynamics rather than continuing to seek evictions and pay the high costs of policing homelessness.

The tiny house village provides a path forward to transitional and affordable housing within the grasp of a local community. It offers a bottom-up approach to the provision of shelter that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable—both for the individual and the city. The concept was first pioneered by Portland's Dignity Village, and has since been re-imagined by Eugene's

Join Us in Creating These New Opportunity Village and Olympia's Quixote Village. Now this innovative model has emerged from the Northwest to inspire projects in Madison, Austin, and Community Based Alternatives Ithaca, and is being pursued by advocacy groups throughout the country. AHHA-HumCo Andrew Heben is an urban planner, writer, and tiny house builder based in Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives Eugene, Oregon. He has visited over a dozen tent cities and tiny house villages throughout the country, and spent time living in an unsanctioned, self-governed “Safe, Warm and Dry First!” tent city known as Camp Take Notice in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Heben has since helped co-found Opportunity Village Eugene, a non-profit organization that puts AHHA-HumCo Vision Statement: many of the ideas within this book into action. Everyone has a human right to a safe, legal place to live. “a revolutionary approach to dealing with homelessness” CNN.com November 15, 2014 Forum Co-Sponsored by: Visit Andrew’s websites: http://www.tentcityurbanism.com/ Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee http://www.thevillagecollaborative.net/ Veterans for Peace - Food Not Bombs-Arcata The Jefferson Project – The Humboldt Edge Project Humboldt – Ink People

Call for Eureka and Arcata Meeting Schedule

Please contact: Jim Paquin -707-633-5377, Nezzie Wade-707-445-5883, Debra Carey- 707-223-3607, Ranya Aboras-267-709-8114, Stephen Smith-707- 902-3838, Octavia Stremple-503-828-7421, Rudy Ramp-707-822-7790, Edie Jessup-707-616-1596

Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives "Safe, Warm and Dry First!" AHHA-HumCo Vision Statement:

Everyone has a human right to a safe and legal place to live.

AHHA-HumCo Mission Statement:

AHHA will provide information, education and advocacy on a variety of cost effective, affordable housing solutions for the homeless. We will facilitate the implementation of these alternative models by networking with private groups, non-profits, public agencies, religious organizations and individuals.

Guiding Principles: We believe that: * Everyone has the right to Safe, Legal Shelter. * Being “Safe, Warm and Dry First!” is a prerequisite, a required condition, to achieving a healthy, productive life. * The whole community benefits when everyone feels safe and respected. * A healthy community provides opportunities for those less fortunate and shares its abundance of resources accordingly. * The lack of affordable housing is the main cause of homelessness and wealth inequality is the main reason for the lack of affordable housing.

Alternative, affordable housing options will give houseless people choices that better fit their individual needs and, at the same time, create less impact on Eureka and other areas within Humboldt County. Essential Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) resources could be more efficiently and effectively distributed and more community participation could be encouraged through implementing housing options proven to be successful in other communities. Participants in these alternative options could be more self-sufficient and work better together to support and empower each other’s healing, general health and sense of community.

We will continue to declare a “Shelter Crisis” using CA Code 7.8 Section 8698-8998.2: ""Declaration of a shelter crisis" means the duly proclaimed existence of a situation in which a significant number of persons are without the ability to obtain shelter, resulting in a threat to their health and safety.

Goals include: providing information, education and advocacy through individual contacts, public forums and workshops in order to facilitate the following:

* Resident and Non-profit Co-Managed Micro Housing Villages– Using a variety of structures from 100 sq.ft. and up with Community Kitchens, Gardens, Rest-Rooms/Showers and Micro-Businesses. The tiny house village also provides the perfect opportunity to produce for each other food, clothing, more housing, preventative health care, reuse and repair facilities, alternative energy and transportation innovations.

* Various models of campgrounds: in cars, in tents, in RVs, open tent camping, bike camping (bike and ride), park and sleep, highlighting participant and non-profit co-managed camp sanctuaries, throughout the county; located near enough to services for people to get what they need.

* Various models of church camping: in tents, in cars, in RVs. (Oregon and, specifically, Eugene models)

* Zoning variances to allow residential camping and micro housing on residential properties, and or city and county properties.

* Rest Areas; places for people to come to for legal, safe sleep, open 24/7; can also be a warming station. Can be under-used County and City parks, schools, vacant buildings, and private property. (Again, see Eugene model for reference)

* Providing Hygiene Stations: showers, restroom, water, waste disposal and lockers in appropriate accessible areas.

* Various models of youth camps

*Actively engaging all community organizations in order to build strong working groups and a successful community coalition to bring together the people and resources necessary to create housing/shelter alternatives that have an immediate and long-lasting impact on minimizing homelessness and maximizing affordable housing options.