OAKLAND (KPIX) – An innovative housing solution in East Oakland is gaining international attention as the country’s first youth-rented Tiny Home Village to open this year.

Colorful murals greet visitors to the Tiny House Empowerment Village. A warm welcome home for Ashley Jaggers and her dog.

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“It kind of makes you excited to see it when you walk in. It’s like this place is so cool, ”said Jaggers.

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Every house is a little shorter than a mobile home. Jaggers was among the first to move in months ago. She was homeless in Oakland for over two years.

“I used to live under the underpass, in a makeshift tent, in a car,” she explained.

The East Oakland village is home to unsecured people ages 18-25. The once vacant property is now a fenced-in community with 25 tiny homes, a communal kitchen, communal area and showers.

Each unit has a fold-away bed that can be folded up into a desk, a laptop, WiFi and electricity.

Village director Angel Griffin says the residents have more than a roof over their heads. The residents living there get a fresh start.

“It just gives them a sense of independence and the guidance to say, ‘Okay, I can do this on my own,'” Griffin said.

Residents must participate in the Youth Spirit Artworks program. The Berkeley-based nonprofit provides professional training, health insurance, full service, and art classes to promote healing.

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Residents pay a third of their income for rent and can stay in the tiny homes for two years while they get back on their feet.

Sally Hindman, founder of Youth Spirit Artworks, says the nonprofit’s interns created the vision for the village a few years ago and guided the process from planning to prototype.

“You were the decision maker. They were brilliant leaders in everything, ”beamed Hindman.

Youth leaders received help from 3,000 volunteers from dozens of interfaith communities, schools and businesses. They built and painted the murals.

The $ 1.3 million project is funded by city grants, a GoFundMe campaign, and material donations.

“It’s an amazing model of what a community can do when they decide to tackle a problem,” said Hindman.

And the world is watching.

“We received calls from Germany and e-mails from Romania,” she said.

Here in the Bay Area, talks are ongoing with several cities about building the next 75 tiny homes in the East Bay.

For Jaggers, she finally enjoys a safe, quiet environment to study online at Laney College.

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She plans to become a social worker so she can open doors to others who also need a home – and hope – for their future.

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