Tiny Home Village Renderings Released For Housing Homeless In Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced a partnership with the Other Side Academy to build a tiny home village for housing the chronically homeless.

Thursday’s announcement is the first in a series that will be released in the coming months to get The Other Side Village built and opened quickly, a news release said.

“This is a huge step forward in this project. We’re moving at light-speed here, given the scope and urgency of the challenge, and I think that’s a testament to the commitment of the City and our partners to confront the reality of this issue,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “In The Other Side Academy, we have a partner that is devoted to the success and empowerment of its current students. They have a proven track record of successfully managing a peer-based community while being an asset to their neighborhood and this City.”

Today I announced a partnership with The Other Side Academy to create The Other Side Village — a tiny home community to serve people experiencing chronic homelessness. It’s a huge step forward for this needed project and we’re moving at light-speed. More: https://t.co/x6oR56iTJP pic.twitter.com/dUONDcE0J2

— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 29, 2021

The renderings showed a community that will be dotted with homes, health services, a chapel, and other amenities.

“The key for this to be successful is not the physical structure of having tiny homes, but the social system. The primary ingredient for success, like at The Other Side Academy, is creating a strong culture that lifts and changes all who are part of it,” Joseph Grenny, chair and founder of The Other Side Academy said. “The most important part is to create an environment, socially and physically, that facilitates connection with others. Homelessness is the result of a catastrophic loss of family. So the solution must be to build a new family. The second most important part is establishing a community with strong social norms.”

The Other Side Village is the latest addition to the programs the city has already put in place to help the homeless. This project could be especially helpful to people who have not been able to benefit from any of those resources.

“The goal in my 2021 plan was to have tiny homes in place by this upcoming winter. Getting an operator and manager on board as a partner was one of the biggest milestones to meeting that goal, so I’m pleased to have reached this place so quickly,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “Really, without a service management partner, as optimistic about the concept as we are, a tiny home community would be impossible.”

A location for the village has not been released yet.