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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

What it's like to house a homeless person in your backyard

LA City and County officials are encouraging homeowners to build tiny houses in their backyards and rent them to a homeless person. The county will give people a $75,000 loan to do that.

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By Madeleine Brand • Apr 11, 2018 • 1 min read

LA City and County officials are encouraging homeowners to build tiny houses in their backyards and rent them to a homeless person. The county will give people a $75,000 loan to do that. Then after 10 years, the loan is forgiven, and the homeowner has presumably increased the value of their property with that extra unit. Something similar has already happened in Seattle, where a charity-based program housed its first homeless person in someone’s backyard in October. We speak with one of the owners of that backyard.

Bobby with Kim Sherman and Dan Tenenbaum.

Bobby in front of his new house.

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Gina Pollack

    Producer

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

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    Kim Sherman

    housing a now formerly homeless man in a new house in their backyard

    News
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