This story was created by #ThisIsTucson and BRINK and underwritten by Vantage West, celebrating the locally-owned businesses that make our community strong. Thank you for supporting the local organizations that support us!
For years, Desiree Cook has had dreams about building a safe community of tiny homes for vulnerable youth.
After much anticipation, contractors are expected to officially break ground next week and start construction on 10 tiny homes on Tucson’s east side.
“Our office is right here where construction is happening, so I’ll be here to witness (the start of construction),” says Cook, who is the founder of local nonprofit I Am You 360.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she says of the venture. “We’ve been talking about it publicly for over three years, so I think seeing is believing for a lot of people.”
She calls the tiny home community historical, not only in its mission, but it will be environmentally-friendly and is African American-led.
The roots of I Am You 360
I Am You 360 serves vulnerable youth and young adults who are in foster care or kinship situations, or are experiencing homelessness. The organization started in Cook’s living room in late 2013 with bags filled with hygiene products that were given to youth on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 2014.
The bags came to be because “children that are underserved should never look like their circumstance,” Cook says.
“Through my lived experience of being homeless and drug-addicted and being incarcerated, once I reunited with my own family and got married, I felt there was something missing,” Cook says, adding that her children spent time in foster care.
I Am You 360 also provides life-skills trainings and a mentorship program, in addition to safe housing opportunities.
“It’s about investing — these young adults are in a situation at no fault of their own,” Cook says. “It’s up to our society to rise up and help the youth become fruitful.”
To date, the nonprofit has served more than 4,000 youth in Arizona, with many from Southern Arizona.
Cook says there are tens of thousands of underserved youth in Pima County — a number that's rising due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s extremely high, and even in our country alone, we have over 400,000 children in foster care and 2.7 million family members taking care of their family's children,” Cook says.
Desiree Cook holds Jennavee Lopez, 4 months old, as Deahzhanea Walls, far left, Giselle Valenzuela, second from left, and Hope Fitzpatrick look on at the I Am You 360 offices in Tucson. Cook is the founder and chief executive officer of the nonprofit that addresses hygiene insecurity of children in foster care. The program has grown to include mentoring and now housing.
A years-long journey coming to life
The ultimate goal for Cook is to break generational cycles and end homelessness.
In December, I Am You 360 was hoping to raise $1.5 million to make its community of tiny homes, dubbed the Small Home Experience, a reality. Now, that number has been lowered to around $1.3 million. The $200,000 raised allowed I Am You 360 to hire contractors who are expected to begin construction next week.
The community will include 10 tiny homes — nine for young adults ages 18-22 who are experiencing homelessness, particularly those who have aged out of foster care. One of the homes will act as a community center for trainings, meetings and behavioral health sessions.
“I’m just so excited to see it starting — it’s been a three-plus-year journey with the vision of tiny homes,” Cook says.
“It’s really going to transform the city, but more importantly, what it’s going to do is create generational change,” she says. “The most vulnerable — the underserved youth — are primarily the ones that slip through society and it’s up to us to fill in those gaps by sewing them back into the community. That not only starts with safe housing, but also with life-skills development.”
Gainful employment will be required for the youth living in the 450-square-foot tiny homes, in addition to participation in community service and attendance in I Am You 360’s life-skills classes that teach students topics such as cooking, cleaning, nutrition, banking and credit. The nonprofit also encourages secondary education.
The residents in the tiny home community will pay $1 per square foot for their homes monthly — and I Am You 360 will put $225 of that into a savings account for the youth each month. When they’re ready to move out in two to three years, they’ll be able to use that money for a down payment on a home of their own.
The nonprofit also collaborates with real estate agencies, so the young adults will have someone to help them through the home-buying process when the time comes.
The living room area at the I Am You 360 offices in Tucson. Currently, Desiree Cook has 10 young adults living in safe housing in a renovated apartment complex that was given to Cook by a developer.
Although the tiny homes aren’t expected to be ready for another seven months, I Am You 360 has been housing 10 young adults at an apartment complex given to the organization by a developer last summer.
“He donated that to us in June and we were able to move in selected young adults,” Cook says. “It was mind-blowing for them. They didn’t believe it. A lot of people say a lot of things — a lot of empty promises. They were blown away — not only to see their keys, but for them to move in as soon as they got their keys. To me, that was such an emotional time because they’re now safe.”
The apartment complex will continue to be a housing option for youth even after the tiny homes are built, allowing the nonprofit to house 19 people in total. Those living in the complex now will be given the opportunity to move into one of the tiny homes when they're ready.
Cook also landed a spot on The Ellen Degeneres Show with guest host actress Tiffany Haddish late last year, where Cook spoke about I Am You 360’s mission. While on the show, Cook received $50,000 to furnish the tiny homes.
“First off, the Ellens and the Tiffanys of the world — that was validation to us,” Cook says. “Seeing our grassroots organization being honored in that way.”
“The exposure was so honorable,” she says. “For us, it’s really about creating awareness. A lot of people don’t know that our numbers (of underserved youth) are critically high.”
“Our underserved youth are somebody as well,” she says. “We’re asking that you pay now rather than pay later as we are better together.”
For more information on I Am You 360, visit their website.
Supporting local businesses as they Thrive
Vantage West is committed to supporting and celebrating the locally-owned businesses that make our community strong. For the time being, the Thrive series is focused on the efforts locally-owned businesses have made to continue serving our community during the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19.
