Tiny Homes for the Homeless
Last Modified: 12/03/2019
A local artist turns trash into small houses for his homeless neighbors.
- 1This industrial section of West Oakland is dotted with tiny houses...
- 2...designed and built by a local artist.
- 3Greg Kloehn has built and given away at least 20 of these structures.
- 4Oscar Young got a home and relief from chilly nights on the street.
- 5It's better than living on the ground, to tell you the truth.
- 6Because if it wasn't for Greg, I would be still on the ground.
- 7Kloehn visits a friend called "Sweetpea" who also lives in one of the houses.
- 8Inside, she is safe and can protect her belongings.
- 9Kloehn scours the streets for construction materials, often dumped illegally at night.
- 10He brings them to his studio where he puts the homes together.
- 11A discarded cabinet door makes a window cover.
- 12Shipping pallets become the walls of the structure.
- 13The artist has installed a small electrical unit powered by a solar cell.
- 14Empty coffee bags become shingles,...
- 15...and a washing machine door and refrigerator shelf become windows.
- 16Nails, screws and glue hold it all together.
- 17Some on the streets once had houses of their own,...
- 18...but Sheila Williams has learned to live with less.
- 19The residents have collected discarded wood and other material for Kloehn's newest shelters.
- 20The artist says this is not a social project,...
- 21...just someone using his skills to help his homeless neighbors.
- 22Mike O'Sullivan, VOA News, Oakland, California
Powered by: