Ernie Sandoval was awestruck as he stared at a mural painted on the side of a brightly colored tiny house in East Oakland last Friday.
“That used to be me,” Sandoval said while taking in the dynamic city scene depicted in the mural. “I used to sleep on the bus, on abandoned roofs, sleeping behind the dumpster, that was my bed for the night.”
The tiny house is part of a new village of tiny homes for unhoused youth that welcomed Sandoval and 10 other residents on Feb. 19. The village will eventually house a total of 22 young residents from Oakland and Berkeley who are experiencing homelessness.
This will be the first time the 22-year-old has had stable housing since he was kicked out of his home at age 18.
“There’s no words to describe how good it feels to be here,” Sandoval said.
The Tiny House Empowerment Village on Hegenberger Road just south of the Oakland Coliseum will operate as a transitional housing center for young people ages 18-25 in 26 tiny houses.
Youth Spirit Artworks, a Berkeley-based nonprofit arts and job training program for low-income youth, spearheaded the tiny house project since planning began in 2017. Artists, activists and over 2,000 volunteers from the community and faith-based organizations built the village over two years.
Sean Williams-McCreary, 20, a community organizer for YSA, has been involved in the planning and building of the village since its inception. As someone who has faced homelessness and housing insecurity since he was 11 years old, he said finally seeing the village completed is overwhelming and cathartic.
“It’s like watching a seed grow, and people that care a whole lot water it,” said Williams-McCreary, who will live on-site at the village as a resident assistant.
“We’re trying to build a familial environment,” he said. “So I have to be that backbone for them, I have to be that support that I wish I had.”
Each tiny house measures 8 feet by 10 feet, and includes a pull-out bed, a desk and chair, closet space, electricity and heating. Shared bathrooms, communal kitchens, gardens and community spaces within the village are part of the services on-site.
The Bay Area Transportation Working Group donated bicycles for all the residents. Residents will be able to stay for up to two years and receive opportunities for employment and jobs training from YSA programs. Four resident assistants, including Williams-McCreary, will also live in the village.