Tiny house project could help unemployed Wilson seniors bounce back from pandemic

A proposed project in Wilson could help seniors looking for work by providing tiny homes for them.

The Wilson City Council is holding a public hearing on May 20 on a plan to build four tiny houses on an empty lot on Jordan Street.

“We would very much like for it to be a tiny house community to assist us with helping older adults,” Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments aging program director Mary Marlin said.

Three years ago, a pair of outreach groups noticed an uptick in Wilson seniors who were looking to get back to work but didn’t have a place to stay. The solution was providing tiny homes to provide them stability.

“A tiny home is a good, comfortable, economic, efficient type of housing for them to be in long enough to get their feet back on the ground,” said Robert Hiett, executive director of UCPCOG.

While the idea had been in the works for years, there’s been a new sense of urgency to help after seeing the impact of the pandemic.

“This was pre-COVID that we recognized this was an issue in our area, so we can only imagine it’s gotten worse since then,” Marlin said.

The area’s neighborhood association is in favor of the plan, which project leaders have called a unique way to help the most vulnerable in the community.

“Everyone here really supports that kind of a mission,” Hiett said. “It’s something that helps the average person that’s living in the region.”

But beyond the financial boost for the seniors, these tiny homes could also be a place to feel like they belong.

“To be able to stay where they want to stay,” Marlin said, “and live in a community.”