San Diego

Organization Proposes β€˜Sleeping Cabins' for Homeless Families

A local organization is proposing a new idea for helping homeless women and children in San Diego

A local organization is proposing a new idea for helping homeless women and children in San Diego: building temporary, small cabins on empty lots where the families can sleep at night.

The cabins, built by an organization called Amikas, would be located in North Park on empty lots, where families can sleep at night and keep their belongings. 

"It's safe for people, they can lock the door, they can sleep in there and they can get their life together," said Jeeni Criscenzo, president of Amikas. "It's safe for the people in the community who are feeling frightened and concerned about all the people, all the tents on the sidewalk."

Criscenzo said the installation of these homes requires no professional skills. 

Like a kit from IKEA, people would just need a few tools to put the cabins together. The average cost of the home would be $1,000. 

Amikas is working on outreach before they start the project: trying to get support from neighbors and local officials for the cabins. 

The organization has been working for ten years to find the solution to getting women and children off the streets. These cabins could help as families get back on their feet. 

The problem in California is that there is no code for these types of shelters. 

In San Jose, they were able to amend the California Shelter Crisis Act. The President of Amikas hopes that can be done in San Diego as well. 

In the coming weeks, Criscenzo will go to San Diego City Council members and pitch the idea to them. 

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