Updated: Sat Nov. 15 2008 18:54:42

ctvbc.ca

It was designed as a very small solution to the very big problem of homelessness in Metro Vancouver, but it may never see the light of day.

"The idea was to come up with a 64 square-foot living space for homeless citizens that would have a price point of $1,500," says Emily Carr University's Christian Blyt.

The homes were built for a springtime industrial design course. Students in the 15-week course interviewed homeless people and directors of shelters and support agencies to design structures made of pine beetle wood and 30 per cent recycled building material.

The result is cheap, basic shelters capable of giving homeless people a place to live. The concept would be to cluster 10 or 12 of the little houses around a communal kitchen and washroom. Improvements could be made for about what the government is paying to renovate a single suite in one of their Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) hotels scattered around the city.

However, it now seems unlikely any homeless person will ever live in one of these shelters.

Blyt says although he's had talks with the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster, there are no serious discussions to put the shelters in place in any Lower Mainland municipality.

Visitors to the shelters, which are displayed near Emily Carr on Granville Island, gave the little houses rave reviews.

"For a good part of the world this is a palace," says Blyt. "It's only in our North American or western world we would say these are small."

Most likely, the structures will wind up as garden sheds or kids playhouses.

"I think that's kind of a waste," one woman tells CTV News. "These student obviously put a lot of effort into these."

"This is a place for someone to call home," another woman says. "This is so needed."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's David Kincaid

Comments are now closed for this story

Molly
With condo prices falling all over the place - why buy this when you could get something ten times the size for the same price.

ron in victoria
i have been living in my truck camper for 1.5 years. 7 feet by 9 feet is 63 feet square. a little close in winter but summer is great and if i don't like the neighbours, just fire up the truck.

NOTinVan
You can't get a condo for $1500. That is absolutely ridiiculous. These people are homeless and politicians just won an election on platforms to help the homeless but when there are real solutions offered, nobody is interested.

Pamela (Surrey)
What a wonderful project to have students involved in. While city administrators continue to display apathy towards the many homeless people in BC, look at what students can accomplish! Well done! It is inexcusable that none of the cities approached with the concept have taken it on. If these administrators aren't prepared to look after their homeless, what about city properties that lay vacant, or a small piece of the huge UBC endowment grounds? There is space, there is a need. Now all we need is a person or organization to have compassion on the less fortunate in our province who can offer the land and/or finances to bring this project to fruition. When such a viable and sustainable option has been offered to help the many homeless, how can we not support it!

A Guenther
Pine beetle wood? Are we going to get their hopes up when we take them off the street then kill them with arsenic over time? That's brutal.

Another option for the builders would be to offer them as mother-in-law suites. That might be popular. *grin*

Barry O'Regan
To think Homeless would reject these portable speaks volumes of the challenges ahead for Robertson. Homeless want Homes, the bigger the better, and oh yeah, place em downtown would be nice, and would it Kill the new mayor to put these portable near liquor stores and ATMs so the Homeless can get an early start panhandling. Vangroovy has always been a Mecca for the Homeless from all across Canada, and the cure to homelessness is only matched by our taxdollars to pay for Robertson's Vision to bankrupt us all.

Erik Langley BC
This is a wonderful idea, for the right people. I certainly don't want any of my tax dollars going to house a hard core substance abuser, whom never had any intention of working and supporting themselves.

government are the problem
this is another example of who the action ultimately lays with, the government. it's no business, me or you, the olympics or anything else, the final say is the government. governments in chilliwack were ready, willing and able to accept the units from the athletes village from VANOC, but vancouver wasn't!!! surrey was also ready, willing and able too!...the new mayor of vancouver has a lot to take care of and hopefully he is the one who finally realizes this is a problem and DOES something!

Doug BC
This seems like a very small step,but surely even this would be better than sleeping under a bridge,or in the street.I think,even if this initial project seems to be getting little support,it may be an idea on which to build.
That said,where to put them becomes an issue.There are,as "Pamela" says,lots of vacant city owned properties with space.The problem would be in ensuring that these shelters remain designated as "temporary".It sounds as though they could easily be moved when the property was needed.But,one problem I see,is that,once a property became available for this cause,any attempt to reclaim it would be met with howls of protests by both the tenants,and the professional demonstrators living in the city.
I deplore the fact that we have so many people living in these conditions.Yet,to date,no one seems to be able to propose solutions that are acceptable to both the people who need a place to stay,and to those who will have to pay for it.
As to the compassion that "Pamela" thinks is absent in our community,I disagree.Most people I know care.But when discussions about solutions take place it becomes clear that most of our ideas are not very pragmatic.Our ideas,much like the ones "Pamela" suggested,come with problems of their own.Neighbouhoods now inundated with drug users and the mentaly ill.
We want to help,but in ways that keep our own kids safe.If we can't do that,they are likely to fall into the same trap as those now living on the streets.

Lynne
It's understood by many in Victoria's securtiy business, that Vancouver is shipping out their homeless and crimminally intent people to live in Victoria to clean Vancouver up for the Olympics. The issue of homelessness will not go away with the sweep of a brush, or one way ticket to paradise... but could be helped by offering those who need shelter a place to live where they have their own community of friends and support.

It's crimminal to let these homes go to waste. Solutions are right in front of us, but politicians and government want to look the other way and send their "problems" elsewhere, out of sight for 2010 and beyond. Shame on them.

Pete
How can we not support it, you ask? Solutions seemingly so simple don't solve the underlying issues behind homelessness.

Don't get me wrong, I want solutions but it will require money, no getting around it.
First, we need the Provincial and Federal Gov'ts to invest in psychiatric hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental illness. To get the mentally ill living on the street into treatment, we would need to look at re-defining the laws that determine how someone can be placed into psychiatric care.Currently, one must assessed to be a danger to themselves or others(that definition doesn't include living on the street, it should, the mentally ill routinely get beat up and robbed every day by gangs!).
Second, let's actually implement the "four pillar" drug strategy, I'm tired of all the debate centered on harm reduction, yes - I support it, but we've forgotten about prevention, treatment and enforcement, yes, let's finally get tough on the drug dealers that prey on the addicted. Put them behind bars! Remember, most shelters don't admit those high on drugs - result empty shelter beds - addicts sleeping in alleys.

Finally, everyone "STOP" giving spare change to beggars, instead I would prefer the GVRD add $100 to our tax bill and direct it all to programs to help homeless, by giving spare change - you are contributing to the problem!Perhaps let's have a bylaw that fines ($25) anyone giving spare change to the homeless and direct that money to programs as well, perhaps then we can funding to reduce street crime and homelessness!

Too many underlying issues that a 64 foot shelter won't solve!

Simone
If Vancouver doesn't want them, maybe found other people who really needs them like other provinces or countries

alex
Excellent hopeful project. Hats off to the students who designed and built those.

Tara
they could probably also be made cheaper - without the paint and without the desk or the bunk bed, though bunk is a nice touch, giving inside standing space that is taken up by a bed on the ground, and gives a feeling of two 'spaces'. also, people would have to stay sober enough to climb the ladder. i'd live in one. almost like a bachelor pad! maybe someone could donate wireless internet!
great idea. robertson, take note!

tams.
Ten times the size for $700??? Were do you live live molly?

Just another prime example of no one listens to the little people.

After all if we do have the houses scattered about we would have to admit there is a problem??

Someone needs to give it a bit of effort and force someone to LISTEN.

There is a problem and this is a bloody great solution!

River
Not such a bad idea here. Just think of the freedom one can have. I laugh at the prices of houses right now. If you really think about it, a house is only a place to store your "stuff", and sleep while you go to work to make another person rich. We see foreclosers, relationship breakdowns ect over a "house", Banks and mortagage companies going broke over this, families not able to pay for electric,food, gas etc, just to own a "house" a place to store your stuff... interesting. Freedom my not be such a bad idea.

Henry Lorteau, New Westminster
that is ridiculous that noone would get thsi as it would be a roof over the homeless peoples heads and no one cares elections are over now so nothing is going to happen until the net elections where they make the same promisies in ending homelessness