photo credit: Homeless Action Sonoma

The Home and Safe Village has been operational for the past few months, but construction is now complete on the long-envisioned tiny home village in Sonoma, said Homeless Action Sonoma President Annie Falandes.

"It's pretty exciting," Falandes said. "You know, I had this idea a long time ago, about six years in the making, and I just didn't understand why the money wasn't coming. There's plenty of money out there for homelessness, but it's just not reaching the homeless."

The Home and Safe Village has been a focus of her efforts for some time, and Falandes is celebrating the end of construction on the housing project designed for homeless individuals.

"We have 20 homes and I've had a total of 26 people who've stayed there," Falandes said.

Falandes said the tiny home village isn’t meant as forever homes for residents.

"When people come in, they have to agree to a program and they sign a contract and they come in and we work towards getting them into permanent housing that's gonna be sustainable," Falandes said.

Falandes said the completion of the Home and Safe Village comes at a moment of forward progress for Homeless Action Sonoma.

"We managed to house 32 people to date in permanent housing, so we're doing remarkable," Falandes said.

But she said she sees worrying signs in Sonoma Valley.

"I get four brand new homeless people a week come in and want help from me, and if I'm getting four a week, there has to be at least two or three times that number being produced in Sonoma Valley," Falandes said. "Ever since the Covid restrictions have been lifted, people have been falling out the bottom in droves."

Falandes said she thinks solutions are not Sonoma Valley-specific either.

"It's not about homelessness, it's about the economy," Falandes said. "People need to make a decent wage and they need to pay a reasonable amount for housing, and there's the end all."