Our Students Help Build Four New Tiny Homes in Dignity Village

On April 4th, four new tiny homes were unveiled at Dignity Village, one of Portland’s oldest city-recognized camps which is a membership-based community providing shelter to more than 50 people. Many of the structures are more than 15 years old and have problems with mold, leaks, and pests. To help improve the situation, a few local nonprofits, including Oregon Tradeswomen and The ReBuilding Center, came together to build better homes for the camp.

Not only does this project benefit the community, but it gives our students the invaluable opportunity to get hands-on construction experience. This is incredibly important to our Training Director, Amy James Neel:

“Building small structures provides students with a unique opportunity to touch multiple aspects of residential construction on a condensed timeline. The building skills they develop during class prepares them to integrate into professional trades jobs where they will make a living wage. The partnership between the ReBuilding Center and Oregon Tradeswomen allows our students to build safe structures for our community while also building their own confidence that they belong in the skilled trades.”

We are beaming with pride for our students, both for their exemplary work and for this important contribution to our community!