New Tiny Homes Village Coming to Southeast Louisiana

3 hours ago

Site Staff,

Tiny Homes Village Groundbreaking Ceremony — By Tiffany Chabert, (L-R): Nick Richard, NAMI SELA Executive Director; Adam Cahanin, DSLD Project Manager; Susan Johannsen, Mental Health Advocate and Land Donor; Shiloh Moates, MSH Architects, Principal Architect; Mike Cooper, St. Tammany Parish President

LACOMBE, La. (press release) – The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Southeast Louisiana broke ground on its Tiny Homes Village on Oct. 22, a major milestone in the organization’s efforts to expand supportive housing for individuals living with persistent mental illness.

The planned Tiny Homes Village will provide safe, stable housing for 15 residents in a supportive community designed to foster recovery, stability and independence.

With construction underway, NAMI Southeast Louisiana still seeks support from businesses, foundations, community partners and individuals to complete the Tiny Homes Village.

“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home and a community where they belong, “ said Nick Richard, executive director of NAMI Southeast Louisiana. “For unhoused individuals living with a mental illness, this project provides the most basic of human needs and can mean the difference between simply surviving and having the opportunity to thrive. This project is about restoring hope and creating connection. We are building a foundation for dignity, hope and recovery.”

Tiny Homes Village: Purpose and Features

NAMI Southeast Louisiana shares that the village will address a critical need for individuals living with serious mental illness, for whom a lack of stable housing can contribute to a cycle of homelessness, hospitalization and incarceration.

By providing a permanent home alongside supportive services, NAMI SELA aims to help residents maintain stability, build independence and participate more fully in their community.

The development will include:

Individual homes
A main house
Shared gathering space
Connections to
- On-site support services
- Case management
- Transportation resources
- NAMI programs
- And other community resources

A portion of the Tiny Homes Village housing will be prioritized for veterans.

Community Support

The project has been made possible through a generous donation of more than five acres of land in Lacombe by longtime advocate Susan Johanssen and $500,000 from St. Tammany Parish Government through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

DSLD Builders is providing construction, and MSH Architects has donated much of its professional services to help bring the vision to life.

NAMI SELA has provided supervised supportive housing since 2013. In 2025, the organization provided housing to 284 individuals throughout the Southeast, resulting in more than 100,000 nights of safe shelter.

Community investment will help turn this milestone into a lasting resource for people in need of safe, supportive housing.