Writer Reacts
patreon
GOOD NEWS STORY: After his brother became homeless, he began building tiny homes on the street to end homelessness.
🕑 Added 2024-09-06 17:59:55 +0000 UTC
A man is making tiny homes on wheels to provide innovative shelter for unhoused people—inspired after his brother became homeless.
Ryan Donais started building the portable homes in July, concerned about the levels of homelessness in his city of Toronto, Canada, where he was seeing a huge growth in the tent cities popping up.
In a bid to provide a solution for local authorities, the 37-year-old construction manager spent 100 hours working on the prototype, and two months building the first unit.
Made from fiberglass-reinforced plastic, the homes feature a bed, a desk, a sink, and a camping toilet.
Ryan says he came up with the idea of building them after his brother became homeless five years ago, having struggled with addiction for 20 years.
“My brother has been suffering with addiction for years,” Ryan told SWNS news. “He is one of the tent people. My mom still speaks to him, but I haven’t spoken to him in years.”
Ryan is currently finishing his second unit and has successfully incorporated the project, called Tiny Tiny Homes, as an official nonprofit organization.
“The project is in its infancy. I am doing this all by myself while trying to get connected with the right people.”
The mini homes are insulated, weatherproof, and watertight. They use solar power for the lights and fan, and come with a window, and door. The bed turns into a sofa, with 12 cubic feet of storage space underneath for personal items.
“I want every homeless person to get one of these. Tent encampments are not a healthy environment,” he said. “My latest model has a sink where people can wash and a camping toilet.”
Ryan said he doesn’t want this to be a permanent home for people but instead a midway point, until people can secure permanent housing.
“I want this to be an awakening program for the government. They need to step up and start housing people.”
Ryan is sharing his developments on TikTok @tinytinyhomes and Instagram @tinytinyhomestoronto. He’s set up a GoFundMe campaign that has raised $5,000 so far.
“I want to make a difference in people’s lives, and that’s why I am raising funds on GoFundMe to buy materials (in bulk)—after funding the first model myself. My goal is to raise $100,000 to scale production, with each unit currently costing around $5,000 to build (not including sweat equity).”
He also accepts donations of plywood, caulking, PL and rectangle tubing, and RV windows—and is looking for a larger shop space, while searching for help with social media and marketing.
