PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Palm Beach County commissioners have approved a pilot program to build tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness, using $500,000 in opioid settlement funds to address a growing crisis affecting more than 1,500 unhoused residents.
WATCH BELOW: 'The solution to homelessness is housing,' Commissioner Maria Sachs tells WPTV's Joel Lopez
The initiative, championed by Commissioner Maria Sachs over the past two years, will place tiny homes on properties owned and operated by nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment centers, that will create 24/7 support services for residents in recovery.
"The solution to homelessness is housing," Sachs said.
According to the latest point-in-time count, over 1,500 people are unhoused in Palm Beach County. The program aims to address gaps in traditional recovery services, where individuals receive treatment during business hours but lack support after facilities close.
"I thought we could put them in communities or industrial areas—no no no no, they've got to be within the arms within the shelter of a non profit that treats them," Sachs said.
More than 20 nonprofits have already applied to participate, along with multiple churches and manufacturers ready to begin construction.
"This is a transitional period of time for them for the homeless so they get their feet on the ground they get the treatment then they get the job training and great they get a job and move on and that tiny house will go to another person that really needs it," Sachs said.
Palm Beach County
How could mini cottages help with homelessness in Palm Beach County?
Residents will have a two-year limit and work with county case managers to achieve stability and independence.
"Not only can they offer them food and comfort and treatment but now they can offer them what they haven't had, and that's a little house," Sachs said. "They'll have a key so when they walk in and lock their door, they need that security."
However, the program faces criticism from recovery advocates who say they weren't consulted during planning.
Maureen Killean, president of Southeast Florida Recovery Advocates, whose son has been battling addiction for eight years, attended this week's commission meeting to request input from the addiction community on the project.
"These dollars are from human loss, our human loss. We want it done right," Killean said. "We have no clue what this plan is about."
Killean said the county's advisory board with lived experiences in addiction had not been consulted on the program.
WATCH BELOW: How mini cottages can help with homelessness in Palm Beach County?
"We just really need to put some guardrails into this equation, guardrails that we've learned from that have cost human lives and families suffering," she said.
"We don't oppose housing we want housing but it has to be done correctly, otherwise people will get sicker and we will have an elevation in both our morbidity and mortality," Killean said.
She expressed concerns that tiny houses may create dangerous isolation within the recovery community and questioned who will vet the nonprofits overseeing future residents.
Sachs said the county plans to consult with local recovery groups through the pilot program. By placing multiple tiny homes per location, residents will be under supervision of nonprofit staff and fellow neighbors who can hold each other accountable and avoid isolation.
Sachs said they plan to sort through applications and plan to have the first tiny home in place within 30 days.
The storm-rated units are designed to withstand severe weather.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
