Frequently Asked Questions
The emergency shelter and tiny home village will serve unsheltered people from Tuolumne County.
Other services, including counseling, recovery, art, music, medical, financial literacy, adult education, health and wellness, and job skills will be available to all community members at low or no cost.
Plans are to include the following services:
- Substance Abuse/Recovery Services
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Mental Health
- Trauma Healing
- Fitness/Nutrition/Wellness/Home Economics
- Mindfulness/Meditation
- Relationship Training
- Music/Art/Drama/Writing Therapies
- Entertainment/Movies/Arts & Crafts
- Literacy/Education/Tutoring
- Financial Literacy/Tenant-Landlord Relations
- Computer Training
- Construction/Auto/Bicycle Repair
- Animal Care
- Gardening
- Nonviolent Communication Skills
- Parenting Classes
- Craft Classes
Our headquarters and primary operating location is in Tuolumne County, California, serving the surrounding area. We work with local, regional and state agencies to provide services in a number of appropriate locations. Our contact information is at the bottom of all pages on this website.
In order to heal from the injuries of trauma, poverty and homelessness people need to feel they have a safe place to live. Making sure residents and community members are safe is a high priority at Resiliency Village. The property is gated and will have controlled entry. There will be an on-site manager, security systems, including cameras and resident security teams. Transparency and direct communication with the community make it possible to be proactive and address potential problems before they arise and quickly respond to any issues that appear.
Resiliency Village is a grassroots community effort, a 501-c3 nonprofit organization working in cooperation with public and private entities that are aligned to serve the unsheltered population in our region. More detail in this article. Learn about the organizers here.
Myths vs. Truth About Homelessness (click + for truth)
Truth: Many people who are homeless do have jobs, sometimes two or even three. The National Coalition for the Homeless estimates as many as 40%-60% of people experiencing homelessness nationwide are employed. However, a paycheck does not necessarily solve their homelessness or other challenges.
Truth: Actually most unsheltered people would like to have a safe place to live and a job. Over a third of the homeless population are mothers with children. With case management and easy access to services designed to improve the lives of participants, people can achieve goals and make the changes necessary to obtain and retain employment and housing.
Truth: In a precarious economic scenario, where there is little affordable housing available, many families and individuals are just a lost paycheck or serious illness away from being homeless. Substance abuse and mental illness can be a contributing cause, but they can just as likely be the result of being homeless. The solution is a community safety-net that includes stabilization, a plan for rehabilitation and recovery as needed, and a path toward self-reliance and a positive future.
Truth: In fact a homeless person is more likely to be the victim of crime than the perpetrator. This is true with one legal exception: camping ordinances (National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty). People who are homeless break that law merely by being unhoused. The reality is that most spend their time and resources trying to survive and improve their situation.
Truth: Many of the solutions and supports for homelessness focus on emergency services, such as shelters and food banks. For individuals who are trying to escape a cycle of poverty and homelessness, emergency services alone are not adequate. There is a need to focus on the causes (most commonly, trauma) and larger systemic factors, such as the lack of affordable housing and the criminalization of homelessness that prevent people from obtaining permanent and suitable shelter.
Truth: In this community, and globally, there is significant care about helping those in need to help themselves. This is evidenced by the dozens of local professionals who have volunteered their time to help build our project and provide services for our villagers. Even more remarkable is the support of the community at large who have donated their time, materials, and funding to help us offer housing, healing, and hope for a better future -- for the entire community. A number of studies and articles are available in the NIH National Library of Medicine detailing public perceptions and views on this very topic.
Truth: The circumstances surrounding homelessness are widespread and are difficult to pinpoint. However, certain sets of conditions make homelessness more likely. For example, causes of homelessness could involve displacement, conflict, natural disasters, mental illness, family strife, gentrification, rapid urbanization and lack of affordable housing. Even natural disasters may play a role. These conditions can be categorized as "trauma" which is a root cause of homelessness.
In most cases, people are put in this situation through no choice of their own. Unfortunately, the barriers to overcoming trauma and the cycle of poverty are high and most often require assistance, such as Resiliency Village provides.
Truth: All of our Villagers are long-term residents of the Central Sierra. In truth, because our region has lower population density, it can be harder for unsheltered citizens to find needed services here than in major metropolitan areas, which are a greater draw. Also, those who have been here for some time will always have a priority opportunity for space in our Village. Due to our limited facilities, we must limit our intake to those of our residents that both need the "housing, healing, and hope," and are good prospects for moving into self-sufficiency with a little help.
Truth: According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, there are three distinct types of homelessness, each with differing causes and remedies needed.
1). Chronic Homelessness These people are likely to be entrenched in the shelter system and for whom shelters are more like long-term housing rather than an emergency arrangement. These individuals are likely to be older, and consist of the “hard-core unemployed”, often suffering from disabilities and substance abuse problems. Yet such persons represent a far smaller proportion of the population compared to the transitionally homeless.
2.) Transitional Homelessness These individuals generally enter the shelter system for only one stay and for a short period. Such persons are likely to be younger, are probably recent members of the precariously housed population and have become homeless because of some catastrophic event, and have been forced to spend a short time in a homeless shelter before making a transition into more stable housing. Over time, transitionally homeless individuals will account for the majority of persons experiencing homelessness given their higher rate of turnover.
3.) Episodic Homelessness Those who frequently shuttle in and out of homelessness are described as episodically homeless. They are most likely to be young, but unlike those in transitional homelessness, episodically homeless individuals often are chronically unemployed and experience medical, mental health, and substance abuse problems.