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Tiny houses help address nations homeless problem
99-square-foot homes cost less than $5K to build
Tiny-Houses-for- outsie page 6
The outside of the tiny house. - photo by Photo Contributed
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — While tiny houses have been attractive for those wanting to downsize or simplify their lives for financial or environmental reasons, there’s another population benefiting from the small-dwelling movement: the homeless.There’s a growing effort across the nation from advocates and religious groups to build these compact buildings because they are cheaper than a traditional large-scale shelter, help the recipients socially because they are built in communal settings and are environmentally friendly due to their size.“You’re out of the elements, you’ve got your own bed, you’ve got your own place to call your own,” said Harold “Hap” Morgan, who is without a permanent home in Madison. “It gives you a little bit of self-pride: This is my own house.”He’s in line for a 99-square-foot house built through the nonprofit Occupy Madison Build, or OM Build, run by former organizers with the Occupy movement. The group hopes to create a cluster of tiny houses like those in Olympia, Wash., and Eugene and Portland, Ore.Many have been built with donated materials and volunteer labor, sometimes from the people who will live in them.