A newly built and furnished set of 15 tiny homes have popped up in Oklahoma City. While they’re all around just 300 square feet, they’re equipped with everything you’d find in a studio apartment — a kitchen, a bathroom, and an area to eat and sleep.
“They're called tiny homes because, I mean, they are. But for one person, they never feel tiny. You always feel like there's an ample amount of space for everything,” said Holly, an 18-year-old who has lived in a nearby tiny home since last November.
Hers is one of 28 existing tiny homes managed by Pivot, a nonprofit that provides housing and other services to young people. Their tiny homes community, which now has 43 houses, is catered toward young people ages 17 to 24 who are aging out of foster care or experiencing homelessness.
According to the Oklahoma Successful Adulthood Program or OKSA, which operates under the Department of Health and Human Services, 31% of young people in foster care at age 17 experience homelessness by age 19. Program Coordinator Jennifer Boyer said housing is one of the most important resources for young people making the transition out of foster care.
“We want to make sure that our young people are housed because stability is so important for them to be able to make those decisions about what they want to do with the rest of their life. They have to have a roof over their head and some place to go at night,” she said.
Beyond the stability of housing, Boyer said the support of community is something young people aging out of foster care often don’t have the privilege of.
“For a lot of our young people that leave care, they don't have that support system. They may have been in a foster home. They may have been in several placements where they've moved around and they haven't had the ability to develop that strong support system that they need,” Boyer said. “We want them to start learning how to develop those social relationships and learn how to be part of a community.”
One of the best places for these young people to start developing a support system, Boyer said, is at Pivot. That’s why OKSA granted the nonprofit funds to build the 15 new tiny homes specifically for young people ages 18 to 21 who are transitioning out of foster care.
Kalyn McMahon, Pivot’s Senior Director of Shelter and Housing, said the easy access to resources makes the tiny home community a good choice for young people who aren’t quite ready to face the world all by themselves.
“We really take away a lot of barriers that you face when, say you are housed with a voucher, but then you're all by yourself and you don't know anybody or you don't have transportation and you have to figure out the bus,” she said.
Apart from housing, Pivot provides their tiny home residents with other resources like therapy and help with accessing outside services like SNAP and Sooner Care.
“They have a lot of resources that are within walking distance to them. I just think it provides them the opportunity to seek out other things that they may want to be working on other than just surviving,” McMahon said.
For Holly, living in the tiny homes has helped her stay sober and pursue her passion for the performing arts. She graduated from high school in May and is setting her sights on college next. She said the transition from just surviving to thriving has been a little jarring.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had this many back to back wins in my life before. I’m only experiencing normal inconveniences that normal people have. Like being like, ‘Oh, I gotta wash the dishes,’ instead of ‘I don’t have dishes at all,’” she said.
Holly said living in the tiny homes can be daunting at first and the key to success is getting to know everyone. And she’s ready to welcome her new neighbors.
“I want to be the person to go up to them first, and just be like, ‘hey, if you need anything, this is where all your resources are. You can knock on my door. There are some other cool people.’ I just want to spread the resources to everyone and be like, ‘don't be afraid. It's really great. Everyone is here to help you,’” she said.
On average, Pivot’s tiny home residents stay for a year and a half to two years. They’re charged up to $150 a month in rent, and receive up to 20% of the money back when they leave. When Holly is ready to move out, she’ll have a rental history, money to put towards her next place, and the skills and support system she’ll need to continue thriving — no longer just surviving.
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