KEY TAKEAWAYS: NAMI Southeast Louisiana plans an October groundbreaking for a 15-resident Tiny Homes Village in Lacombe. St. Tammany Parish allocated $500,000 in federal funding to help launch the supportive housing project. The village will offer onsite support services, case management, tran sportation resources and community spaces. DSLD Builders will provide construction at cost, while MSH Architects has donated its services.   NAMI Southeast Louisiana plans to break ground in October on a 15-resident tiny home community in Lacombe designed to provide permanent supportive housing for people with severe and persistent mental illness. The nonprofit’s Tiny Homes Village will be built on more than five acres of donated land at 28534 Erwin Road in Lacombe and will include housing, onsite support services, case management, transportation resources and shared community spaces, with a portion of the homes prioritized for veterans. St. Tammany Parish government has allocated $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to help launch the project. DSLD Builders will provide construction at cost, while MSH Architects has donated its services, according to NAMI Southeast Louisiana. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for mid-October. NAMI Southeast Louisiana said the development is intended to address the connection between housing instability and repeated homelessness, hospitalization and incarceration among people with serious mental illness. “Stable housing changes what is possible for a person,” NAMI Southeast Louisiana Executive Director Nick Richard said. “When someone has a safe home and the support they need, they have a stronger foundation for recovery. This is an investment in individuals and in the strength of our entire community. This village is about more than building homes. It is about creating a community where people can regain stability, maintain their dignity and move toward greater independence.” The organization has operated supervised supportive housing programs since 2013. NAMI Southeast Louisiana said it provided housing to 284 people in 2025, representing more than 100,000 nights of shelter. The nonprofit estimates that housing a resident at the Tiny Homes Village will cost about $50 per day. By comparison, it estimates incarceration can cost about $150 per day and psychiatric hospitalization as much as $1,000 per day. NAMI Southeast Louisiana is seeking financial and other support from businesses, foundations, community organizations and individuals to complete the development. The nonprofit provides mental health programs, support groups, housing services and advocacy across nine Southeast Louisiana parishes. It said its programs served more than 67,000 residents last year. ...read more read less