Inside the Expansion of Community First! Village, Where Tiny Homes and Relationships Help People Heal
Homelessness is often framed as a problem to manage. In Austin, one nonprofit is treating it as something to heal.
Mobile Loaves & Fishes is in the process of expanding its Community First! Village, a large-scale effort that will ultimately provide permanent housing and community for 1,900 people who once experienced homelessness, proving what’s possible when housing comes first.? Today, the tiny home community already provides stability for more than 420 formerly homeless men and women in Austin.
In November, the nonprofit announced the completion of its Hog Eye Road Expansion, marking 10 years of developing Community First! Village, while also preparing to welcome new neighbors into the expansion by year’s end.
According to the nonprofit’s website, in order for homeless people to “truly settle, heal and transform their lives, they need much more than four walls and a roof … They need relationships. They need dignity and a renewed sense of hope. They need community.”
photo courtesy of Mark Odom Studios
A Tiny Home Neighborhood Built with Community in Mind
Designed by Mark Odom Studio, the current expansion includes six custom tiny home designs ranging from 144 to 200 square feet, each accommodating the unique personalities of future residents. Three designs are tailored to extroverts:
- The Alcove House
- The Bungalow
- El Camino a Casa
And three are designed for introverts:
- The Delight House
- The Birdwatcher
- The Happy Hideaway
Once the project is complete, the expansion will add 600 new homes, a process that is expected to take 15 to 18 months.
Mark Odom Studio and Mobile Loaves & Fishes are working to refine the layout of their expansion site. Called “Neighborhoods of Knowingness”, these individual home clusters are designed so neighbors can connect and socialize.
Mark Odom, founder and CEO of Mark Odom Studio, recently shared insights into the design process with Invisible People. Working within a limited footprint that still needed to support safe and comfortable daily living, the team focused much of its creativity on front porch and window placement, while also accounting for different personality types.
“The porch is considered the threshold of the dwelling unit, and each deserves its unique privacy or enclosure considerations,” Odom said.
Sunlight was another critical factor, influencing how windows were positioned throughout the homes. “The design characteristics are mostly subtle; however, it really shifted our perspective during the design process in a positive way,” he added. “The social and unique perspective of personalities was a pivotal moment in our design process.”
Each home includes a front porch and is clustered around shared amenities, including laundry rooms, restrooms and shower facilities, outdoor community kitchens, and green spaces.
According to Mobile Loaves & Fishes, these shared areas are intentionally designed to encourage interaction among neighbors and foster relationships. Additional buildings and gathering spaces throughout the village provide places for residents to come together for conversation, activities, services, and meals — reinforcing the sense of community at the heart of the village.
While tiny home communities aren’t a universal solution, especially in dense urban areas with limited and expensive land, they can be a powerful tool for creating long-term stability and community where land is available and accessible. Community First! Village provides a blueprint that other nonprofits and architects can draw on to address growing homelessness in any community.
“It was incredibly insightful to listen, observe, and respond to the considerations of the community,” Odom said. “We learned the critical elements of what makes a thriving community flourish … architecture was the backdrop for the community to unfold.”
Community Impact
Residents of Community First! Village come from diverse backgrounds, each with unique stories. Yet today, they are writing new chapters side by side, supported by a community that cares.
Jason and Sabrina, for example, spent more than a year living in a tent in the nearby Esperanza Community, a state-sanctioned homeless encampment. They found their way to Community First! Village after visiting a resident to see his home. Over time, they met other residents, spent time in the community, and eventually moved in themselves in July 2021. Today, Jason works as an artist for the village’s Community Works program, and Sabrina works with the move-in team preparing homes for new residents.
“We are no longer homeless,” Sabrina said. “We have a home. We work. We pay our rent, and we take pride in our home.”
Their experience reflects just one of many paths to stability made possible by the village.
For Phil, housing provided something else entirely: the foundation needed to recover and rebuild after years on the street. After surviving without housing for more than 15 years, Phil decided he couldn’t keep running. According to the website, “He needed a permanent place to call home. He needed caring people he could trust to support him and help him heal.” With that stability, Phil was able to use his skills as a cook to join the village’s culinary team.
Mark Odom underscored the importance of that sense of ownership and agency:
“Listen and empower the people who are experiencing chronic homelessness. Make them feel that it is their community,” he said. “Shelter should bring a feeling of safety while giving them the freedom to alter the shelter as it fits their personality and lifestyle.”