Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

HOUSE MUST MAKE WAY FOR HOUSING – The Steve Cardiff House, seen this morning, needs a new location.

One tiny house has one big problem

The Blood Ties Four Directions Centre Society is seeking the help of Whitehorse residents, building community and land owners.

By Whitehorse Star on July 12, 2016

The Blood Ties Four Directions Centre Society is seeking the help of Whitehorse residents, building community and land owners.

The Steve Cardiff House – a tiny social housing project by Blood Ties – is in urgent need of new land or a lot on which to situate.

Currently located on Hawkins Street, the Tiny House must move to accommodate a new large housing development.

“Over the past four years, the tiny house provided supported accommodation,” Patricia Bacon, the society’s executive director, said today.

“We want to keep offering our housing program to Yukoners in need. A new lot in which we can place the house is urgently required.”

The Steve Cardiff House was a project developed four years ago as a small step toward helping homeless Yukoners in getting off the streets.

The tiny house – at 240 square feet – provides shelter for someone for up to a year. Over the past four years, the dwelling has had five tenants.

“The development of the project was truly remarkable as the design, build, and municipal community all worked together with Blood Ties to bring the concept to fruition,” said Kristina Craig of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition.

“Significant donations of time, money, and building materials made the project possible.”

The tiny house project allows Blood Ties to provide support housing to its clients.

Society staff work closely with the tenant to connect him/her to health services, including Hepatitis C treatment, nutrition services, and counselling.

Positive outcomes that have resulted from a stay at the Steve Cardiff House include fewer visits to the emergency room, an exit from the criminal justice system, better adherence to medications, and better nutrition.

“The Steve Cardiff House and the support provided to the tenant by Blood Ties is an integral and unique part of the housing picture in Whitehorse,” said Charlotte Hrenchuk of the Yukon Status of Women Council.

“It provides hope and concrete help to vulnerable people in our community.”

A new home for the tiny house should be within city bus routes and requires space of about 10 metres by seven metres. A downtown backyard or an undeveloped lot would work.

Blood Ties is asking people who might be able to help to contact them at 335-9067 or email:

executivedirector@bloodties.ca or housing@bloodties.ca

The society strives to eliminate barriers and create opportunities for people to have equal access to health and wellness and to live in the community with dignity.

Blood Ties works with people who are living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and those vulnerable to infection due to addiction, poverty and homelessness.

The house is named after the former NDP MLA who died at the age of 53 in a highway collision south of Whitehorse in July 2011.

Comments (9)

Up 46 Down 14

Zack on Jul 13, 2016 at 4:34 pm

Park it in the WalMart parking lot with all the other freeloaders.

Up 43 Down 8

Bobby Bitman on Jul 13, 2016 at 4:30 pm

I am sure that somebody in the NDP, Blood Ties, and/or the Anti-Poverty Coalition has a house downtown on the bus route with a back yard. This should not be a problem. A perfect opportunity for one of them to walk the talk and be a 'landlord' of sorts for the needy.

Up 25 Down 33

C Harrold on Jul 13, 2016 at 2:09 pm

You people suggesting living in an rv are obviously not in touch with reality. Not feasible in the Yukon in December unless you like thawing out freezing pipes and turning your rv into a sauna everytime you cook anything. By the way, Patricia Bacon doesn't have a yard and the other members don't have one that would be suitable. Maybe instead of writing critical comments, you should try being part of the solution, because right now you're part of the problem.

Up 28 Down 9

yter on Jul 13, 2016 at 7:37 am

Just Sayin makes a good point, if done properly, tiny houses are NOT cheap. But the key word is properly. Any hipster with a pair of Carharts and hammer is putting up a web site and claiming to build tiny homes, but the thing is, they are not building them with building permits, or to any applicable code. They are wiring them themselves and I have yet to see one where the wood stove was installed with the proper clearances. The people who want these "houses" want to just drop them anywhere, yet the zoning regulations for that area may or may not allow for this. Want cheap housing? Save some cash and buy a travel trailer and live in an RV park. You can buy a travel trailer for much, much less than you can build a tiny home. And it will be safe and well built.

Up 29 Down 0

ProScience Greenie on Jul 12, 2016 at 5:34 pm

Back in the day Steve C. could have built a tiny little home, warm and dry, for very little money. Way, way less than what we're seeing today.
And there is zero shortage of land if we had the cojones to bust the artificially maintained real estate market we have here.

What a sad joke the whole thing is.

Up 45 Down 7

bill on Jul 12, 2016 at 5:00 pm

Is this a project that First Nations would be interested in as a land owner?

Up 51 Down 19

north_of_60 on Jul 12, 2016 at 4:56 pm

Why isn't Patricia Bacon, or other members of the society’s executive volunteering to have the tiny house in their yard?

Up 37 Down 41

Thomas Brewer on Jul 12, 2016 at 4:24 pm

Good riddance to the occupants of this micro-house. The neighbourhood is much better off without a Blood Ties presence.

Up 49 Down 17

Just Say'in on Jul 12, 2016 at 3:19 pm

Why not just get an RV the original tiny house. There is very little that is affordable about these little shacks. The only thing that makes this affordable is the volunteer labour and materials. These little houses claim of cheap accommodation always relies on someone letting them be a free loader on their property. I would bet that if you did it correctly with Water and Sewer and had to buy the land it wouldn't be cheap at all.

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