The tiny homes built by Erie County during the Davis Administration have found new homes of their own. After months of uncertainty surrounding the structures, all of the units have now been claimed by local nonprofit organizations, each purchasing a home from the county for $1.
One of those organizations is the Erie United Methodist Alliance (EUMA), which plans to use its structure as a storage unit for their Rainbow Connection thrift store on Buffalo Road.
“We are so happy to partner with Erie County, who were committed to making sure these units were used by organizations working to end homelessness in our community,” Kurt Crays, the Executive Director of EUMA said.
Rather than serving as housing, EUMA’s small structure will provide much-needed storage space for donated items distributed through the organization’s thrift store and outreach programs.
“We will be using this structural unit to store items that our neighbors are donating to EUMA, so we can give those to our neighbors experiencing homelessness until they can get a permanent home of their own,” Crays said.
Crays said its current storage space is nearly full, and the additional several hundred square feet will allow the organization to accept and distribute more donations to those in need.
Habitat for Humanity is also putting three of the county’s small structure to use in a different way.
Executive Director Roche Vermaak said the organization will divide its unit into three separate storage sheds that will be placed alongside newly constructed Habitat homes.
“We are going to take each of the units and divide them into three sheds, add a wall and a door, and that becomes the sheds,” Vermaak said.
The sheds will provide outdoor storage for future homeowners. Habitat volunteers and partner families will complete the modifications while working on current home construction projects.
“The volunteers and the families will be on the job sites building these units, and when they are done, we will put them on the side. They will all be smaller than 100 square feet, so no permit is needed,” Vermaak explained.
Habitat for Humanity officials said they were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to repurpose the structures.
“These units aren’t being wasted. They are being repurposed for a good cause, and all the agencies that received them are using them in a different manner,” Vermaak said.
Habitat for Humanity expects nine families to benefit from the sheds created from its three units. One is already at a current build site, while the remaining two will be installed as work begins on additional homes.
All of the tiny homes built by Erie County have now been claimed and were sold to local nonprofits for $1 each, ensuring the structures will continue serving the community in new ways.