In the early part of the 20th century, John Steinbeck described non-fictional accounts of a housing crisis during the depression. With help from the government, numerous villages were built in California, from Redding to San Diego in California. This initiative put a roof over the heads of thousands of people displaced by something they could not control. The effects went far beyond surviving: having a home and community enabled people get their feet back on the ground. These villages restored people's faith in a functional, viable society, and then went on to contribute themselves.