New tiny houses in Whitehorse ready for residents

These Whitehorse houses may be tiny but the need for them is great, according to a local non-profit organization.

Blood Ties Four Directions invited people on Friday to come have a look at its four new tiny houses, built on a lot downtown. Another tiny house, built in 2012, was already on the property.

The project is aimed at alleviating homelessness by offering a transitional living space to at-risk clients. The 240-square-foot units are each meant to house one person for an indefinite period of time.

"It's a step, right?" said Patricia Bacon, executive director of Blood Ties. "There's a number of people in our community who are homeless or housing insecure, so this is one project that's going to help."

Residents will be clients of Blood Ties, an organization that provides education and support for people living with HIV or hepatitis C.

The first residents will start moving in to their units next week and all units should be occupied by the end of March, said Bacon.

Funding for the project came from private donors and the federal, territorial and city governments.

Bacon said that tiny house living is not going to be for everyone. There's no one-size-fits-all solution to homelessness, she said.

"So this model that we've built is a really good model for some folks that we serve — people who need to have a sense of mastery and autonomy over their space."

Bacon said it's important not to "ghetto-ize" vulnerable people, by only offering transitional housing in large apartment blocks.

"Not everybody should be in a 20-unit apartment building, where you have shared hallways, and then you have other issues around security," she said.

"The tiny house community is part of a neighbourhood and that's important to us."