DignityMoves shares playbook to help communities build interim housing faster, at lower cost

The nonprofit says its model can deliver temporary supportive housing in as little as four months, at a cost of about $50,000 per unit.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — A nonprofit working to address homelessness is sharing its approach to building temporary supportive housing, hoping other communities can replicate its model.

DignityMoves recently released an open-source playbook outlining how communities can develop interim housing faster and at a lower cost.

The guide walks local leaders through the process, including finding available land, securing permits, identifying funding sources and engaging with the community.

DignityMoves founder Elizabeth Funk says the organization can deliver interim housing in as little as four months, at a cost of approximately $50,000 per unit.

One of the key components of the model is finding temporarily available land rather than purchasing property.

"Land is really expensive in California, and so the first piece of our model is to find ways to borrow temporarily vacant land that may not be available permanently. And then that way we can avoid the land cost," Funk said.

Funk also pointed to California's designation of homelessness as a crisis, saying it can help communities streamline the process of developing interim housing and avoid some of the red tape associated with construction.

The goal is to provide people experiencing homelessness with immediate shelter and stability while they work toward securing permanent housing.

DignityMoves already has interim housing communities in Santa Barbara County. Through its new playbook, the organization hopes to help other communities adopt similar strategies and expand access to temporary supportive housing.

For more information, visit DignityMoves' website and explore its open-source playbook.