Gregory Kloehn is a kind-hearted and crafty artist in Oakland, California who had the brilliant idea of creating small mobile homes for homeless people out of reclaimed and recycled materials found on the street. He began his Homeless Homes Project when he realized that he could apply his creative ideas and construction skills to help people in need.
The first step is when Kloehn goes dumpster-diving in an industrial Oakland neighborhood prone to illegal waste dumping. He selects parts for his practical portable houses and puts them together out of whatever he finds – the foundations can be cargo pallets, the door can be a refrigerator door, and the windows can be anything – even laundry machine doors. Every sofa-sized tiny home is built on wheels so that it can be pushed around and has a slanted roof so that rain rolls right off. Otherwise, each home is different – one might have a mirror and another might have shelves or cup.
What's important, however, is that each one puts a roof over a homeless person's head – however small that roof might be. Kloehn has enlisted the help of volunteers and even youth from a local high school to help build his creations. To donate to his cause or help out, be sure to visit his website.
