As he tows a 96-square-foot house around Des Moines, Iowa, Joe Stevens is overwhelmed by the intense, sometimes tearful support he receives from churches, schools and service groups for his plan to use the trendy little structures to help homeless people.
But when Stevens actually tried to create a village of the homes in Iowa’s largest city, the response was far different.
“We got shot down,” said Stevens, who leads a group that proposed erecting 50 tiny homes on a 5-acre industrial site north of downtown Des Moines. “It was a sense of fear, uncertainty and doubt, a kneejerk situation.”
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