What started out as a branding slogan for the No Place To Go Project has become the name for a growing, grassroots movement in Nevada County: Housing for the people by the people.
In response to the failure of government and the home construction industry to provide enough affordable housing, seven diverse organizations in western Nevada County epitomize housing for the people by the people.
Freed leads
The housing workgroup of the Advisory Council for the Nevada County Aging & Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) has become the de facto clearinghouse for citizen-initiated housing.
“The ADRC brings together local nonprofits and county agencies to share information, resources, and coordinate services for older adults and people with disabilities,” said Annie Mikal-Heine, program manager for the FREED Center for Independent Living.
“Housing is a major challenge for people with a fixed or low income, and the increasing number of older adults and people with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness makes this issue of finding alternative housing options a top priority for the ADRC,” she said.
Habitat habit
Perhaps more than any other organization, Habitat for Humanity exemplifies the ethos of housing for the people by the people. Founded in 1976, Habitat operates in more than 70 countries
Since 1995, the nonprofit Nevada County Habitat for Humanity has helped low-income and disadvantaged families build their own homes.
According to the Nevada County website (www.nchabitat.org), “As an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, we’ve brought people together to build homes, communities, and hope – driven by a shared vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
in housing we trust
Founded in 2024, the NevCo West Community Land Trust (CLT), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, just finished a prototype of six homes in Penn Valley. A much larger multifamily development is in early planning, reported Tracy Huston, president and co-founder.
“For our neighbors who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing and yet not enough to afford the high market rates, NevCo West CLT provides a solution,” according to the website (www.nevcowestclt.org).
“CLTs are about preserving affordability through a variety of means, sometimes including partnering with great nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity,” Huston said.
Operating on a premise of housing for people, not for profit, NevCo West restricts rents and sale prices to no more than 30% of what middle to low-income households earn.
inclusive housing
The housing-for-the-people movement comprises dwellings for ALL the people in our community. This includes “neurodivergent” people.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Neurodivergent is a nonmedical term that describes people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason.”
Charles Durrett, Architect AIA, of The Cohousing Company in Nevada City has designed 55 cohousing communities around the world, including two in Nevada City.
Durrett is leading an effort to build a neurodivergent cohousing community locally. He is currently conducting a six-week workshop on how to create a community that fosters independent living and supportive community ties.
For more information, visit www.cohousingco.com.
Think big
Tiny-homes-on-wheels builder Travis Duckworth envisions Sol Village, a sustainable, multigenerational cohousing community of 50 to 100 tiny homes in Nevada City. The village would feature “shared amenities and a strong emphasis on community, ecological stewardship, and the arts,” he said.
“Sol Village is being financed through a micro-loan initiative to keep money in the local economy and is expected to give market-appropriate returns on investments, currently 8%-12% annually,” Duckworth explained.
There is a high level of interest in this conscious community enterprise. More than 60 people of all ages showed up at a recent meeting at the Madelyn Helling Library to learn of the opportunity to invest in the village or to purchase a home.
The next informational meeting, which is free, will be held this Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the library. To learn more about tiny homes, visit www.soltiny.com.
Robin Hood for good
Known as the Robin Hood of Nevada County, Brad Peceimer doesn’t rob from the rich, but he happily takes donations from them. He adds the donations to the approximately $80,000 of his own money that funds his efforts every year to assist families at risk of homelessness or loss of transportation.
In the past nine years, he reports he’s placed 304 families into refurbished trailers on private property and given away 177 cars. Add to that hundreds of cords of wood to seniors and his frequent random acts of kindness.
To make donations tax-deductible, community activist Beth Moore is organizing a nonprofit to support Peceimer’s philanthropy.
Tentatively called the Robin Hood Fund, “It will organize a whole crew of volunteers to keep people housed and employed,” said Moore, who will be president of the board when Robin Hood is incorporated.
Know housing
Unlike the other organizations listed here, the No Place To Go Project is not creating housing. It’s redefining what housing is.
The Project is driving the campaign to legalize RVs & trailers on private land as emergency alternative housing.
The Nevada County Community Development Agency is currently soliciting public input on a proposed alternative RV housing ordinance at www.nevadacountyca.gov/4102/AlternativeRV-Housing.
As director of the No Place To Go Project, I am asking all supporters of housing for the people by the people to fill out the survey because your answers will inform the parameters of the proposed ordinance.
The survey runs through Aug. 10. We expect the proposed ordinance to be published in late August and followed by public hearings around the county. Like we did for tiny homes on wheels, we must go into the public hearings with respect, civility and relentless reasonability.
Most of the homes we’ve discussed here are for people with higher incomes, but trailers and RVs are the last best option for low-income people – and everybody deserves a home.
Tom Durkin is the director of the No Place To Go Project (formerly Sierra Roots/No Place To Go Project), a social justice advocacy for low-income and homeless people. He may be contacted at tom@noplacetogoproject.com or www.noplacetogoproject.com.