Near the end of the school year, KUTV filmed Canyons Technical Education Center students constructing a tiny home for The Other Side Village for their Pay It Forward segment when Mountain America Credit Union provided $500 toward the continuation of the project.

Students stopped their hammering for the few minutes to applaud the contribution which will continue the effort to provide housing to the chronically homeless.

“We’re building this house for the homeless, so it’s pretty cool to give back to the community and learn at the same time,” said River Hamilton, who just graduated from Alta High.

CTEC is just one of several schools and technical centers that are constructing these tiny homes, said Camille Winnie, The Other Side Village vice president. 

Each of The Other Side Village homes will provide up to 400 square feet so it is designed for an individual and will have a living/sleeping space, bathroom with a shower and a kitchen. Within the village there will be access to social and medical services, a community garden, a chapel, a grocery store and more, she said.

The idea behind the Other Side Village is to create an affordable housing neighborhood with access to services to help people overcome chronic homelessness. Currently in the first phase of 60 homes, the three-phase community will have 400 homes located at 1882 W. Indiana Ave. in Salt Lake City.

“The state has a website that keeps track of all the CTE programs and I just started reaching out to them,” she said. “I’ve been able to present at their conferences. Weber Innovations High School was our first high school that came on board; locally, we have CTEC, Murray High and Salt Lake Community College building homes.”

Winnie said the goal of students building the homes is two-fold.

“It makes the cost of the homes much more affordable, about half the cost of what it takes to hire a commercial builder to build the homes, and it gives students the opportunity to be part of the solution of homelessness. I’ve gone and visited with many of the students, and I’m able to give them a little more information about the village,” she said.

Winnie said The Other Side Village provides the materials and funding for the tiny homes, which are built on the school’s location under the construction teacher’s supervision. Once completed and it passes inspection, it is transported to storage for the Village.

“Once our subdivision is developed, they can be placed on site and be ready to go,” she said, adding fall is the expected Phase I opening. “We’ve been building these houses for two years and we have several done and are already in storage. We should have several more being completed this year with more to be built after that. We’re getting a constant supply of houses being built, thanks to students.” 

CTEC Principal Doug Hallenbeck said the students follow the plans which are provided by The Other Side.

“This project piqued our interest because students see their work and give back to the community with skills they’ve learned,” he said. “We use the specs they give us; they provide all the materials and pay for everything that is needed. When it’s done, they’ll slip a trailer underneath and it’s ready to go.”

Hamilton said this home is different than others she has been a part of since there isn’t a foundation.

“We start with laying out all the studs and doing the framing first. Then we put on the sheets, the roof and made sure everything was secure with brackets. Then, we did windows and now we’re getting into the electrical stuff,” she said. “By doing this, you understand more of what to do and how to build it. It’s more hands-on.”

About 35 CTEC students began the tiny home in January under the direction of construction management instructor Nathan Hampton.

“This resonated with me because it’s giving people a hand-up, not a handout,” he said. “Camille told us their plan and how they run their program with the homeless people who live in the houses, pay the rent they can afford, they work in the community, they have different jobs, and they are able to fund their programs with money they generate, not tax dollars. It’s self-sustaining and it teaches people skills on how to live and how to get their life back together. I like that. I also was excited when she’s said we need construction classes to build houses, because not only are our students getting more opportunity to put the skills to use they’ve learned, but we’re planting some seeds in students’ understanding and with more life experiences, they’ll understand the importance and want to continue to serve the community.”

Canyons Career and Technical Education Director Janet Goble said she, too, appreciates the service component of building the home that is a “compacted, functional livable space” for the nonprofit tiny village.

“These students are realizing their skills are benefiting people who are homeless,” she said. “It means more than I’m just going to do this; they’re giving people a place to live, a home.”