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Tiny Home Residents Celebrate Expansion of Beloved Community Village

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 1:55 p.m.

Lauren Antonoff On Tuesday, February 25, supporters and residents of the Beloved Community Village gathered to celebrate some new additions. 1/15

Lauren Antonoff At the beginning of 2020, eight tiny homes were added to the Beloved Community Village, increasing the total number of units from eleven to nineteen and raising the village's capacity to accommodate up to 25 residents. 2/15

Lauren Antonoff The ceremony on February 25 was held in celebration of these expansions, as well as the opening of a village community center. Located on the northern end of the property, the community center will provide a kitchen, showers, indoor restrooms and an indoor gathering space for Beloved residents. 3/15

Lauren Antonoff Supporters packed the ceremony, including donors, volunteers, organizers, activists and residents both past and present. The crowd cheered for the growth of the village and the people who worked to make the project possible. 4/15

Lauren Antonoff Resident Luna Raine (left) and co-director of the Colorado Village Collaborative Cole Chandler (right) officiated the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 5/15

Lauren Antonoff Councilwoman-at-Large Robin Kniech joined the facilitators, saying, "We are so happy that these residents are warm and safe today with the wind and the cold outside, but we know that we have hundreds and thousands more residents needing solutions." 6/15

Lauren Antonoff But for now, those with solutions are delighted to be housed. 7/15

Lauren Antonoff This man, who is rebuilding his life after a stint in prison, has just moved into his new tiny home and adopted a husky. His first husky was taken away when he was incarcerated. 8/15

Lauren Antonoff "We both have a home now," he says. 9/15

Lauren Antonoff "I got this TV for $100. I plan on building a loft, too. We can do whatever we want with the homes — paint the walls, build things." 10/15

Lauren Antonoff The tiny home village used to be in Denver's RiNo district. When talk first began about relocating the village to Globeville, some of the neighborhood's residents were opposed. Now, neighbors seem to have made their peace with the temporary community. 11/15

Lauren Antonoff Trains speed by in close proximity to the village, but it's an improvement over living on the streets. 12/15

Lauren Antonoff The tiny homes are small and basic, but residents are proud to have a space of their own. 13/15

Lauren Antonoff This man expresses his gratitude for the project and the opportunity to move forward. 14/15

Lauren Antonoff For many looking to get back on their feet, this is home. 15/15

Tiny Home Residents Celebrate Expansion of Beloved Community Village

Formerly unhoused Denver residents are celebrating the expansion of a new and improved tiny home village in Globeville that's working to provide solutions for the city's homeless.

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