MADISON, Wis. — A Madison nonprofit recently received approval from the city to build its third tiny home community.

What You Need To Know

  • Occupy Madison just got approval from the city to build its third tiny home community

  • Occupy Madison already has tiny home communities off Aberg Avenue and 3rd Street

  • The third will be built off Stoughton Road and will house 22 people

  • The community is funded entirely through fundraising, so no one pays rent

Gene Cox lives in one of Occupy Madison’s existing properties on 3rd Street in Madison. He’s lived there since the start in 2014.

At that time, he was living in Watertown and commuting to work in Madison. When his car broke down, he was faced with a difficult decision.

“I knew I couldn’t afford the commute,” Cox said. “I couldn’t afford an apartment in Madison. So I bought a van to serve as my home and vehicle. And that’s essentially when I moved to Madison.”

Now, he shares the neighborhood with seven other residents.

The property features communal kitchens and bathrooms, a wood shop, garden and greenhouse, and a store that sells crafts homemade by the residents.

The community is funded entirely through fundraising, so no one pays rent. That doesn’t mean residents don’t have to earn their keep.

“You still have to be involved with the community, be involved with fundraising because that’s how we pay our bills,” Cox said. “You still have to clean, do your dishes. No one’s going to do your dishes for you.”

It may seem unconventional, but resident Sofia Martinez said living this way has changed her life. Martinez is another one of the founding residents, who previously struggled with housing insecurity and addiction.

“They gave me the chance to build relationships again,” she said. “They gave me a chance to look at myself and change what I wanted to change and be a better person in society and try to do something.”

Occupy Madison has another one of these tiny home communities off Aberg Avenue. It’s set to build a third off Stoughton Road, which will house about 22 people.

“I believe this system works,” Martinez said. “I believe we should have more of this.”

Cox said he hopes the new community is able to provide the same support to others that his neighborhood has given him.

“You really just become a family and a really tight knit community,” he said. “We also like to kind of break down stereotypes about unhoused people.”

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