Posted by Vassiliki Giannopoulos on

Renee Wang, grade 10
The Bishop’s School, La Jolla, CA

Millions of people worldwide are denied the basic human right to a home. The typical homeless shelter fails to cater to individuals’ needs because they do not support independent and private living. However, tiny homes offer comfortable living, permanent housing, a sense of community, and a path to rebuilding self-respect. I designed a self-sustainable, environmentally sensitive, and deconstructable tiny home for the unhoused. It uses solar panels and water tanks to be entirely off-grid, and it is built from recycled materials. Because it is deconstructable, it can be easily and cheaply manufactured, transported, and customized to individuals’ personal needs. My tiny homes provide more humanized alternatives to shelters for the unhoused. They can help people worldwide, from those who sleep rough, to refugees, to natural disaster survivors. Beyond providing physical shelter, they create safe communities that help underserved individuals reestablish self-respect, and they embrace people back into society.

Featured Image: Renee Wang, grade 10, The Bishop’s School, La Jolla, CA