Many have experienced it: rolling up to a left turn light and there is someone standing there with a sign saying, “Anything helps. God bless.” What is one to do in that situation? A dollar bill feels insincere and possibly funding an underlying addiction, while directing them to a shelter feels insufficient. On any given night in Minnesota, approximately 9,000 people are homeless.^[1] Minnesota takes substantial steps to assist those experiencing homelessness including but not limited to supporting nonprofits and state-run programs^[2] to move people off the streets or keep families in their homes.^[3] Even though the number of homeless have decreased since 2020 and programs such as the Hennepin County Housing assisted 2,526 people from homelessness to permanent housing in 2024, still much work remains to be done. Additionally, “relapse” to homelessness poses an issue. The national average of those that return to homelessness after being in permanent housing is 18%.^[4] Is there a possible method to reduce the weight of this problem? Alan Graham believes the solution lies in fostering community.

Community, according to him, is common unity and the recognition that no one is better than anyone else.^[5] Paired with his definition of homelessness as a catastrophic loss of family, community becomes the home, the makeshift family for the person exiting homelessness. ^[6] Inviting the homeless into community heals recidivism to homelessness and  provides hope for the broader community.

Graham, along with a host of donors, volunteers, and a team, has created a community outside the outskirts of Austin, Texas called Community First.^[7] It occupies 51 acres and is home to 470 formerly homeless people and has plans to expand to provide homes for 1,400.^[8] Yet the uniqueness rests not in its size but in the organization’s style: tiny-homes and RVs all focused on community and the stability it provides.^[9] Community First embodies its name in every aspect through communal kitchens, shared bathrooms, welcoming streets, community gardens, and an outdoor amphitheater.^[10] Residents can also support themselves through trades offered on campus including artwork, blacksmithing, woodwork, mechanical work, and a community market to name a few.^[11] Given the opportunity for creative pursuits, residents can work for themselves, pay their rent and have a greater sense of purpose while surrounded by those doing the same.^[12] The results speak for themselves–according to Community First’s data over the past seven years there is an 80% drop in drug use and 40% drop in alcohol use.^[13]

Community First upholds permanent housing with supportive community and not simply permanent housing as a standalone.^[14] “Community integration is a key predictor of housing stability for people with histories of homelessness.”^[15] For the chronically homeless, building relationships those around them help to ground them. Moreover, in order to set the stage for a successful transition from homelessness to permanent housing, this is paramount. A study published in 2020 shows   “fostering a sense of belonging… could improve mental health outcomes” formerly homeless in permanent housing.^[16] Support and community stand as pillars for the integration of the homeless.

Community First offers a program called “Replication Pathways” to educate those interested in imitating their model.^[17] Sanctuary Indy is actively using the “Community-First Model” as the foundation for its campus.^[18] Springfield, Missouri began Eden Village, a spinoff created by a former employee of Community First.^[19] Other cities such as Denver have created their own version of a tiny home village with promising results in the increased mental health of the residents.^[20] The path appears rosy.

Still challenges exist and Community First has them in spades. For one, evictions still occur for residents who do not follow the rules: quiet hours, drinking or using drugs in the open, failure to pay rent, and cleanliness checks.^[21] The cultural adjustment from life on the streets or shelters to an atmosphere of tight rules can be a culture shock for some.^[22] Resistance from the surrounding neighbors and the city can pose issues as well. Community first was met with heavy resistance from the City of Austin until they decided to place their campus right outside Austin’s borders.^[23] Initially, neighbors guffawed at having an area of formerly homelessness placed adjacent to them because of the fear of rif raf and decrease in property values–neither of which has not come to fruition.^[24] Furthermore, some ex-residents and former volunteers leave disgruntled because the campus no longer has the small town feel as the expansions continue to allow an influx of ever-new faces occupying the new tiny homes.^[25] As a consequence, critics claim this steers Community First from its central goal of community and support alongside permanent housing. Nevertheless, Community First walks forward in its mission to house the homeless despite the real, human challenges that arise.

The question remains for Minnesota: Could this model exist and be successful, specifically in the Twin Cities? Generally, the policy stands to promote the creation of stable housing as opposed to prohibiting it.^[26] The sentiment to transition the homeless to shelters appears present in groups such as Align Minneapolis, which lists housing as a legislative priority.^[27] Beyond the restrictive zoning laws and regulatory barriers, the main issue is: replicating the relational culture through the intentional design.^[28] Frigid temperatures would pose a significant challenge to the open plan, which serves as the blueprint for Community First’s springboard to foster such a culture. Not only that, but their micro-homes are custom built to reduce costs, so many did not have bathrooms or kitchens within the confines of the home.^[29] This particular model would likely not align with the needs of people in a Minnesota winter. Nevertheless, this does not rule out the possibility of creative solutions. Eden Village in Springfield, Missouri has fully outfitted micro-homes while still retaining the community feel–and to boot, they face the additional challenge of each resident living with a disability.^[30] A community in Minnesota, would not have the same access to outdoor spaces for residents year round as they do in Texas, creative solutions could provide a stable connection for residents to the community.

A pipedream? Maybe. A possibility for the Twin Cities? Definitely. The funding toward various housing initiatives and shelters displays the openness of Minnesota to housing solutions. This paired with an ever-present population of homeless may pave the path for more stable and proven sites like Community First and Eden Village. No doubt the hurdles would be immense, but hurdling may be favorable over sitting on the sidelines with the unsettling feeling in one’s stomach as they pass another homeless person at a left-hand turn light.

^[1] 2024 Point in Time Count Summary, Minn. Interagency Council on Homelessness, https://mich.mn.gov/2024-point-time-count-summary (last visited Sept. 13, 2025)

^[2] Coordinated Entry Homeless Assistance, Hennepin County, https://www.hennepin.us/en/residents/human-services/coordinated-entry (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[3] Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP), Minn. Hous. Fin. Agency, https://www.mnhousing.gov/rental-housing/grant-programs/active-funding/fhpap.html (last visited Sept. 13, 2025)

^[4] J. Tsai & T. Byrne, Returns to Homelessness: Key Considerations for Using This Metric to Improve System Performance, 113 Am. J. Pub. Health 490, 490-94 (2023).

^[5] Alan Graham, Welcome Homeless: One Man’s Journey of Discovering the Meaning of Home 129 (Thomas Nelson 2017).

^[6] Graham, supra note 5.

^[7] Ashley Southall, A Village of Tiny Homes Offers Shelter and Stability for Austin’s Homeless, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/headway/homelessness-tiny-home-austin.html.

^[8] Community First! Village Capital Campaign https://mlf.org/capital-campaign/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[9] Ashley Southall, A Village of Tiny Homes Offers Shelter and Stability for Austin’s Homeless, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/headway/homelessness-tiny-home-austin.html.

^[10] Id.

^[11] Community First! Village, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, https://mlf.org/community-first/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[12] Adrienne Herzog, Evaluating Homes for the Homeless: Psychosocial Factors of Tiny-Home Villages (B.S. thesis, Univ. of Oregon June 2019).

^[13] Joe Rogan, Episode No. 2181 featuring Alan Graham, The Joe Rogan Experience (July 26, 2024) (downloaded using Spotify).

^[14] Community First! Village, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, https://mlf.org/community-first/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[15] A. Bassi, J. Sylvestre & N. Kerman, Finding Home: Community Integration Experiences of Formerly Homeless Women with Problematic Substance Use in Housing First, 48 J. Comm. Psychol. 2372, 2372–90 (2020), https://doi-org.ezproxy.stthomas.edu/10.1002/jcop.22423.

^[16] W. La Motte-Kerr et al., Exploring the Association of Community Integration in Mental Health Among Formerly Homeless Individuals Living in Permanent Supportive Housing, 66 Am. J. Comm. Psychol. 3, 3-13 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12459.

^[17] Community First! Replication Pathway, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, https://mlf.org/replication/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[18] Rivkin, Jan, and Coelin P. Scibetta. “Community First! Village: Scaling Goodness?” Harvard Business School Case 725-443, May 2025. (Revised September 2025.)

^[19] Ashley Southall, A Village of Tiny Homes Offers Shelter and Stability for Austin’s Homeless, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/headway/homelessness-tiny-home-austin.html.

^[20] Jennifer Wilson et al., A Fresh Look at Tiny Homes, Univ. of Denver Graduate Sch. of Soc. Work (Jan. 26, 2021), https://socialwork.du.edu/news/fresh-look-tiny-homes.

^[21] Ashley Southall, A Village of Tiny Homes Offers Shelter and Stability for Austin’s Homeless, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/headway/homelessness-tiny-home-austin.html.

^[22] Id.

^[23] Joe Rogan, Episode No. 2181 featuring Alan Graham, The Joe Rogan Experience (July 26, 2024) (downloaded using Spotify).

^[24] Ashley Southall, A Village of Tiny Homes Offers Shelter and Stability for Austin’s Homeless, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/headway/homelessness-tiny-home-austin.html.

^[25] Id.

^[26] Housing and Homelessness: Policies and Procedures, Minn. Dep’t of Human Servs., https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/policies-procedures/housing-and-homelessness/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025)

^[27] 2025 State Legislative Priorities, Align Minneapolis, https://www.alignmpls.org/legislativeadvocacy (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[28] Shelby Blessing, Community First – Designing to End Homelessness in Austin, TX, Shared Space with Erin Peavey (Jan. 13, 2024), https://www.erinpeavey.com/sharedspace/community-first-designing-to-end-homelessness.

^[29] Community First! Village, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, https://mlf.org/community-first/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).

^[30] Eden Village, Springfield, MO, https://edenvillagespringfield.org/ (last visited Sept. 13, 2025).