Commissioner urges study of Avivo tiny-home model as county evaluates emergency shelter spending

A commissioner reported on a site visit to Avivo's tiny-home program and recommended staff study that model before committing to more costly emergency retrofits locally.

The commissioner described Avivo as a low-barrier program operating out of a converted warehouse that provides residents with private tiny-home pods, three meals a day, on-site casework and coordinated transitions to supportive housing. "What stuck out, really, for me was the humanity that they bring into those spaces," the commissioner said, adding that Avivo had placed hundreds into supportive housing and uses intensive outreach and trust-building to move people into more stable settings.

Board members agreed on the value of learning from existing models and planned a September site visit to Avivo and other programs. The commissioner urged evidence-based evaluation of local investments after recent emergency expenditures; staff and board members said they want clearer outcome reporting on shelter retrofits and expectations for security and case-management results before duplicating models that require large capital sums.

The board did not take formal action but directed staff to schedule site visits and provide comparative information about models, costs and outcomes.