NAMI director urges Montgomery County to study tiny-home program to house unsheltered residents

Anita Kitchen, director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), told the Montgomery County commissioners on Feb. 10 that a tiny-home program used in Tampa, Florida, could help local residents experiencing homelessness and mental illness. "This program had an 80% success rate for transitioning participants into stable housing after three months," Kitchen said, and she told commissioners the model pairs small housing units with service buildings offering telehealth, showers and laundry to support residents while they pursue permanent housing.

Kitchen said program administrators in Tampa used outreach teams to recruit unsheltered people and located the tiny-home sites on the outskirts of commercial lots to reduce neighborhood disruption. She said telehealth connections helped treatment centers reach people with addiction and decreased emergency-room use; the minutes record a reduction in ER visits of about 70% for the served population. Assistant County Administrator Gerri Pegues told the commissioners she was interested in the concept and would connect Kitchen to local organizations that are exploring similar options.

Why it matters: commissioners and staff repeatedly flag homelessness and behavioral-health access as cross-departmental challenges that have budget and service-delivery implications. If pursued, the model would require identifying local partner sites, startup funding and coordination with health and social-service providers. The presentation did not include a local cost estimate or a proposed funding source; Kitchen and county staff discussed interest but no formal direction, budget request or vote was recorded.