Tiny home complex will house 42 homeless people in Modesto. When is it opening?

A $3 million tiny home complex for 42 homeless people with serious behavioral health conditions is expected to open by the end of the year in a partnership among Modesto, Stanislaus County and a housing nonprofit.

The project is called Dignity Village Modesto Interim Housing and will be on a city-owned dirt lot fronting Ninth Street between E and D streets, across the street from The Salvation Army’s Berberian Center and other homeless services.

The tiny homes are for people with a serious mental illness and-or substance abuse disorder. The county’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services will provide case management and other services.

A Fresno-based limited partnership called Modesto BHBH will operate the site, including providing maintenance and security, according to a city document. San Francisco-based DignityMoves, which uses prefabricated and modular materials to quickly build homeless housing, will design and build the project.

The projects consists of 42 homes, each 70 square feet and housing one person. Residents can have a dog. The homes will have air conditioning, heat, electricity and water. The project includes bathrooms, showers, offices, a garden, dog run, dining and laundry facilities and other common spaces, according to a county document.

There could be a mural along the fence that will go up along Ninth Street. The project’s entrance will be at E Street.

Officials are calling this bridge housing because it serves as a transition to the next level of housing for homeless people. The tiny homes are an alternative for people who won’t or can’t stay in shelters. The tiny homes also give residents privacy and dignity.

The project is a victory for Modesto, which has struggled to make a dent in the city’s homelessness crisis despite multiple efforts.

80% of county’s homeless in Modesto

Residents and some council members have called for the city to move faster, including by providing safe camping sites: designated areas where people can sleep with basic services, such as bathrooms and security.

This year’s annual countywide homeless count tallied 2,052 people, with 1,622 in Modesto, the county’s biggest city. Forty-eight percent of the total counted were not in shelters, 26% reported having a mental health disorder and 16% a substance use disorder.

The annual counts are a snapshot of homelessness and not definitive. For instance, the count doesn’t include people who are couch surfing or living in motel rooms.

BHRS Director Tony Vartan said in an interview that a resident might live at Dignity Village Modesto for three to six months before moving to the next level of housing, such as permanent supportive housing or a residential care facility.

Vartan said the three to six months is a guideline and the actual length of stay could be much longer depending on a resident’s circumstances and needs.

BHRS will start looking for potential residents next month. Vartan said the emphasis will be on homeless people who have serious behavioral health conditions and are living on the streets, but people in CARE Court also could be residents.

The Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act requires counties to provide services for people with serious untreated disorders, such as schizophrenia, through voluntary or court-mandated treatment plans. There are 15 people now in Stanislaus County’s CARE Court, according to a city official.

Vartan thanked Modesto for its partnership and said the project is an important step in providing more housing alternatives for people who are homeless.

State funding for project

Stanislaus County is spending $2.1 million it received in state Behavioral Health Bridge Housing Program funding to design and develop Dignity Village Modesto, according to a county report. The county has asked the state program for additional funding to cover the remaining cost of the $3 million tiny home project. The county will use other funding if the state does not grant its request.

It will cost $1 million annually to operate Dignity Village. Vartan said the county has state money to pay operating expenses for three years and will look for other funding sources beyond that.

The county Board of Supervisors at its April 30 meeting unanimously approved hiring DignityMoves at $3 million. The item was on the meeting agenda’s consent calendar so it was approved along with several other items without discussion.

The Modesto City Council on Tuesday evening approved leasing the Ninth Street lot to Modesto BHBH at an annual cost of $1. A lease agreement attached to a city report says the term is for five years. The council also granted DignityMoves a right of access to make improvements to the lot. The council votes were unanimous.

Modesto Councilman Nick Bavaro brought DignityMoves to the attention of city and county officials a little more than a year ago after touring one of its projects in downtown Santa Barbara.

Councilmen Jeremiah Williams and Chris Ricci thanked Bavaro at Tuesday’s council meeting. Bavaro responded with the quip that visiting Santa Barbara was a difficult and hard task. But he thanked Ricci and Councilman Eric Alverez for meeting with DignityMove officials and City Manager Joe Lopez for his work on the project.