The Tiny Village

10/29/2021

This recent Inside of Knoxville article gives a tiny look into why our vision can't be as simple as just building some tiny homes and inviting our unsheltered neighbors to live in them. Building a village means transforming situations, habits, relationships, and living conditions into something beautiful, beneficial, and sustainable.

Your Urban Connection

09/08/2021

We envision a world where all people feel safe, are empowered to thrive, and have a place to call home.

Home is many things; it’s a cozy bed after a hard day, it’s a community that walks with you through all life experiences, it’s a place to be your truest self.

Everyone deserves this. That’s why our team has been working tirelessly to bring forth The Tiny Village, a non profit organization dedicated to building village communities for all.

08/23/2021

Congratulations to our founder Ashlind Bray!

08/23/2021

We’re still here! Still taking care of our unhoused neighbors as best we can, and still fighting to get housing for all Knoxvillians.

Our board of directors has been hard at work laying the foundation for our grassroots dream to become a reality.

Great things are coming for Tiny Village, stay tuned and thank you all for your continued support!

08/05/2021

Did you know that American family homes are 100% bigger than they were in the 1950s? One. Hundred. Percent.

Our houses are too big. Most countries live in houses about a quarter of the size of American homes. These large homes contribute to excess waste, a burden on our infrastructure, and the increasing price of housing in the US.

It’s not just that we want bigger and “better” homes, it’s also that our building codes and zoning regulations essentially force builders to create these large and unsustainable homes.

There is another option. We can build small, sustainable communities with higher quality materials for less money. Bigger is not always better. That’s why Tiny Village Is committed to bringing innovative solutions to our community.

07/26/2021

Meet our Board Member, Brandon Church!

Brandon has spent the past 6 years serving the homeless in Knoxville. Brandon is currently a front line worker at Knox Area Rescue Ministries and has served in this role since 2018.

Brandon has a passion for serving those on the outside fringes of society, and specifically those struggling with addiction. After beating his own addictions, Brandon studied urban ministry at Johnson University. Brandon has chosen to live permanently in Knoxville with his wife to serve our friends in the homeless community.

Brandon is serving as the co-chair of our resident services and outreach committee. He will be a guiding voice in making sure our neighbors are cared for and their voices are amplified through our work.

We are so thankful to have Brandon on our team!

07/24/2021

Meet our founder, Ashlind Bray!

Ashlind is a Knoxville transplant from the Detroit area. A UT Knoxville Alumni (‘16), with a BS in Environmental Economics. Ashlind served the Knoxville community since 2016 as an AmeriCorps service member, and later as a Educator at Ijams Nature Center.

Ashlind is passionate about serving her community, especially those experiencing homelessness. After years of forming friendships with our neighbors on the streets, she saw the insurmountable barriers to housing many face.

A dream of providing housing for our friends moved Ashlind to start Tiny Village Knoxville. Thanks to your support, that dream is now a reality!

07/17/2021

🎉 We reached our fundraising goal!

Because of all your generous donations, Tiny Village Knox was able to raise over $12,600 for the purchase of our land!

When a community comes together, we can accomplish something great. Thank you, Knoxville, for believing in our vision and for partnering with us to make it a reality!

This is just the beginning, now let’s build our unhoused neighbors some homes!

07/12/2021

Thank you to Knoxville News Sentinel for the article highlighting The Tiny Village!

Pretty soon on this patch of land, we plan to build a village of tiny homes for our unhoused neighbors.

We still have lots of work to do, but we’re confident that with such a wonderful community behind us we will build homes for our most vulnerable community members.

Check out the article through the link in our bio!

07/09/2021

Only $3,000 til we reach our goal! 🎉

That means together we have raised over $9,000, just through grassroots individual donations!

I’m case you’re new here, we are raising the funds to purchase a plot of land to build our very first village of 10 tiny homes for our unhoused neighbors.

We are nearing the deadline to raise the funding, only 1 month to go! If you would like to donate and help us build the village, DM us your address after and we will send you one of these sweet little stickers! 🌸 🏠

We have a few platforms to donate on currently:
🌺 paypal: [email protected]
🌸 venmo:
🌺 cash app: $tinyvillageknox

07/09/2021

Only $3,000 til we reach our goal! 🎉

That means together we have raised over $9,000, just through grassroots individual donations!

In case you’re new here, we are raising the funds to purchase a plot of land to build our very first village of 10 tiny homes for our unhoused neighbors.

We are nearing the deadline to raise the funding, only 1 month to go! If you would like to donate and help us build the village, DM us your address after and we will send you one of these sweet little stickers! 🌸 🏠

We have a few platforms to donate on currently:
🌺 paypal: [email protected]
🌸 venmo:
🌺 cash app: $tinyvillageknox

07/06/2021

According to a study by the National Low Income Housing coalition, in 2018 a renter working 40 hours a week earning minimum wage cannot afford a 2 bedroom apartment in ANY county nationwide.

Read that again. Someone working full time in our country cannot afford to live..anywhere. Home prices are rising at TWICE the rate of wage growth.

Even our affordable housing units we are building are too expensive! Someone working full time earning minimum wage in Knoxville can afford to spend $348 a month in rent without being cost burdened. Meanwhile we are building luxury housing frequently renting studios for upwards of $1,000 a month, and our “affordable units” are in the $700 range for a one bedroom.

We have got to invest in our communities, invest in affordable housing, and raise our wages in order to address this housing problem.

We have a homelessness crisis because we have an affordable housing crisis. Let’s work together to build homes for our most vulnerable community members.