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A tiny home neighborhood for previously unhoused residents of the Tri-Valley appears on the brink of a much-needed and long-awaited expansion.
Located on the Crosswinds Church land in Livermore, Goodness Village — an independent nonprofit organization — intends to build a new community center followed by at least 20 additional tiny homes to meet the needs of current residents and reduce a waitlist of about 100 people.
The center is set to host a dining room to fit the whole village, connected offices, a laundry room, fitness center, a classroom, a large communal kitchen and store. It is anticipated for review by the Livermore Planning Commission in the first quarter of 2025, according to city staff.
Though the community center signifies much more than just an expanded communal space, Goodness Village Executive Director Kim Curtis explained.
“Many people who aren’t in this field don’t understand the urgency to us having a community center where we can build that community piece that we know is missing for the folks who are transitioning out of homelessness and trying to navigate their wellness and recovery,” Curtis said.
Within months of opening in 2021, the 28 single-occupancy homes at Goodness Village were filled to capacity — each home features a restroom, shower and kitchenette.
Now in late 2024, Goodness Village expects to fill one unit to return to capacity before Christmas-time, Curtis said.
In addition to affordable housing, the village provides 24/7 mental health services as well as resources for residents’ safety, physical health and workforce training.
These services as well as the laundry, communal kitchen and a small store are all located in a small two-bedroom house, operating as the current community space.
The residents make due, but the house comes with limitations, according to Curtis.
Its single washer and dryer are in near-constant use, as it is shared by all the residents. The lounge area does not comfortably fit every resident. The close proximity of the health and wellness center to the communal kitchen doesn’t offer the best privacy. The separated office spaces make collaboration difficult.
Also during community dinners in the current gathering house, “They’re all trying to eat off little plates on the couch or some of them will just bring back plates and go back to their units and eat there,” Goodness Village vocational manager Terri Kendro said.
Based on the original plans for the village, that house was not even supposed to be the community center, Curtis explained. But the site of the proposed center — under the flight path of the Livermore Municipal Airport — has caused its development to be postponed.
True to its name, a new center would help Goodness Village build community, which Curtis said is often missing for folks transitioning out of homelessness.
The space would encourage people to stay onsite and away from negative coping mechanisms they may have used in the past, she said.
“There’s been people in the past four years that would have benefited from having this available to them and without it, I’ve had to ask them to leave the village,” Curtis said. “I know that when I’m sending people back to homelessness, I am also sending them back to potentially dying on the streets alone. And that’s a heartbreaking reality for myself and for the staff, and we try to do everything we can to help people stay here.”
Financing for the community center is already in the bag, since outgoing State Sen. Steve Glazer helped secure $5 million from the Department of Social Services in 2022 for construction of the community center and additional homes .
The exact cost of the community center is unknown at this time, but presumed to cost under $5 million.
Though moving ahead with construction of the center requires it undergo review by the Livermore Planning Commission and receive approval of its conditional use permit modification, city staff said.
If the city approves the proposal, the center could be constructed in six months, according to Curtis.
Once built, Goodness Village staff would relocate its offices from a trailer to the center. The trailer could then be used as the wellness center, offering greater privacy than the one located off the communal kitchen.
Additionally, Goodness Village could pursue its intention of adding at least 20 more homes to the community — although more fundraising would be required to build the homes, Curtis said. Project costs include bridge construction to cross a creek on the property and new systems for electricity and water.
As a nonprofit, it’s hard to keep the funds rolling in, Kendro said. But she can see the positive impact of Goodness Village.
The residents get settled, open up and take better care of themselves, Kendro said.
Resident Pat Ericksen said she feels very content living in the neighborhood whereas she didn’t feel that way before moving in.
“It’s nice that you can just walk out of your place and be able to say hello to someone, be able to talk to someone — that’s really important,” Ericksen said.
Goodness Village is one of the 10 nonprofit recipients of the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund, an annual campaign hosted by Embarcadero Media Foundation, East Bay Division. Every dollar raised will be split evenly among the beneficiaries.
Donations to Goodness Village will go toward sustaining mental health support, services like case management and vocational training as well as overall housing stability, according to Curtis.
Contributions to the 2024-25 Holiday Fund can be made at PleasantonWeekly.com/holiday_fund until mid-January.
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