A once-empty suburban lot in Adelaide has been transformed into a village of tiny homes to support young people transitioning out of the child and family protection system.

Ten self-contained "pod-style" homes have been built on land leased from the SA Housing Trust and developed into a small community.

"They look beautiful, they've got a lovely feel about them. It's a real campus village feel," the CEO of youth housing support group Junction, Maria Palumbo, said.

"It's a place that anyone that lives around here can look around and be really proud of it."

'Where do I go?'

The program is a collaboration between the South Australian government and Junction, costing about $3 million.

Ms Palumbo said the idea to establish a tiny home village was based off similar interstate and overseas models.

She said many teenagers aged between 16 and 18 in the protection system feel significant stress as they approach the end of their time in care.

Many of them have been impacted by trauma and difficult life experiences.

"They're not connected to family, their friendships are quite scattered, they can be from really remote areas and not have a social network.

"The expectation they should be ready to leave at the age of 18 … that was hard to come to terms with."

Ms Palumbo said the cost-of-living and housing crisis has made it even more difficult for young people to find secure long-term accommodation.

Residents can live on the site for up to two years and will be assisted by support workers to engage in education and find employment.

"When they're ready, they've got the confidence and they've got the skills, then we can take the next step into more independence," she said.

'I felt alone'

When Emmarita Brown left the care of the Department for Child Protection (DCP) at 18, she felt "alone".

"Every day is hard especially when you live independently," she said.

Ms Brown, an Indigenous woman and emerging artist, was born and raised in the protection system and said she didn't have enough time to prepare for the daunting transition.

"I would have really enjoyed this great opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people," Ms Brown said.

"If there's small, simple things that you struggle [with] like paying rent, food shopping, there is people here that can help."

Raising community acceptance

Each 17-square-metre tiny home contains a bedroom, kitchenette and living areas which can be constructed within months.

South Australia's minister for women, Katrine Hildyard, said the homes addressed the lack of secure housing for at-risk young people.

"This is not just about providing shelter this is about providing 24/7 support to ensure young people can equally and actively participate in our economy and community life," Ms Hildyard said.

Ms Palumbo says they are looking to transform more vacant blocks around the state into pop-up villages.

She said a huge focus was ensuring the sites were of "high-quality" and blended into neighbourhoods.

"It's land that's unused, it's land that going to sit out there that we can transition to something that's going to work for young people.

"Community acceptance is the most important thing and I'm really big on that.

"We've got some beautiful stories already of kids already getting work or going back into education so we're excited to see where this will go."