‘Shelter shouldn’t be the streets’: Hope is restored at tiny homes village

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A temporary housing development in Oildale designed to help fight homelessness is bringing new meaning to the word “Hope.”

The “Hope on Hart” Tiny Homes Village is open and filling up fast, providing immediate housing to dozens of people previously on the streets.

Arturo Mendez is one of 69 residents of Hope on Hart Tiny Homes Village on East Roberts Lane.

“The streets are bad, I won’t lie,” said Mendez.

Mendez is one of 69 residents of “Hope on Hart” Tiny Homes Village on East Roberts Lane. Mendez was on the streets for about three months before moving into his tiny home. Now, he is moving out to start a new job and into permanent housing.

“For me, I needed this help to get back on my feet. This was a lot of help,” said Mendez.

The tiny homes are not a long-term solution but a stepping stone to more stable housing. Mendez is a prime example, but with food, laundry services, and a roof over their heads, the hope is that more will transition from the streets to a new life of stability.

“Something you don’t get in the streets, there were times the whole week I wouldn’t eat, just water and ice, whatever I could get,” said Mendez. “So going from that to this was wonderful, it was a blessing.”

You have to be willing to follow the rules, particularly the rule of sober living.

“You have to be willing to make a change, get along with your neighbor and really see a future inside the community. If you don’t see that mindset coming in, you’re really not going to flourish,” said Hope the Mission’s Krissylee Delapinia.

Each unit includes a bed, air conditioning and a place to put all your belongings for one person or a couple. Residents are able to bring their pets.

A factor that can separate this immediate housing program from shelters.

“The waiting room for shelter shouldn’t be the streets,” said Delapinia.

Like shelters, the tiny home village is filling up fast. The group behind it, Hope the Mission, is now working on plans for expansion.

Plans that Mendez says Bakersfield’s homeless population needs.

“Everyone treats you like family, I would recommend this to anybody. It’s a great place and Bakersfield needs more,” said Mendez.

17 News has yet to get an answer as to when that could happen.

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