NAMI Southeast Louisiana Plans Lacombe Tiny Home Village With $500,000 In Public Funding

A new housing development planned for Lacombe will use $500,000 in federal funding allocated by St. Tammany Parish to help create a residential community for people living with serious mental illness.

The project is being developed by NAMI Southeast Louisiana on more than five acres at 28534 Erwin Road in Lacombe. Plans call for 15 homes designed to provide permanent supportive housing, with some housing expected to be prioritized for veterans.

The parish’s $500,000 contribution comes from funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal program that distributed money to state and local governments following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike a temporary shelter, the Lacombe development is intended to provide residents with long term housing while connecting them with services that can help them maintain stability and independence.

Plans include access to case management, transportation assistance and shared community spaces. Those services are intended to help residents remain connected with treatment, appointments and other resources.

The public funding is only one component of the project.

The property being used for the development was donated, while private businesses are also contributing to reduce construction costs. DSLD Builders is expected to provide construction services at cost, while MSH Architects donated architectural services for the development.

Renderings of the proposed community show individual homes spread throughout the wooded property, along with internal access areas and outdoor space.

Although the development will house a relatively small number of people, it represents a specialized approach to housing in St. Tammany Parish.

Permanent supportive housing combines a long term place to live with services designed to address challenges that can make maintaining independent housing difficult. For people living with serious mental illness, those challenges can include reliable transportation, maintaining access to treatment and staying connected with support providers.

The project also represents another use of federal pandemic recovery dollars several years after the programs that originally provided those funds to local governments.

In this case, $500,000 from St. Tammany Parish’s federal ARPA allocation is being directed toward the NAMI Southeast Louisiana development in Lacombe.

The project is expected to move closer to construction soon, with a groundbreaking currently planned for October.

Once completed, the village is expected to provide permanent housing for approximately 15 residents while expanding supportive housing options available in St. Tammany Parish.