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Pallet is making $7,500 prefab tiny homes that can be setup in 1 hour to help solve the homelessness crisis — see inside a unit at a Washington village
Washington-based Pallet is building prefab tiny homes to provide shelter for people who are unhoused.
Its smallest $7,500 64-square-foot unit "Pallet 64" is now being used in villages across the US.
See inside a Pallet 64 at Everett Gospel Mission's tiny home village near Pallet's headquarters.
Bigger isn't always better, according to the rising interest in tiny homes.
A New Frontier tiny home designed by David Latimer.
Studio Bull/New Frontier Design
Tiny home sales skyrocketed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shelby Wilray
Some consumers wanted to downsize their primary residences. Others wanted a separate office during the rise in remote work. A few people were even using tiny homes as a private backyard gym.
The public's love for this minimalist lifestyle was so high, a 330-square-foot home in Santa Cruz, California sold for over $1 million in 2021.
The 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
Despite what you may see on social media, tiny homes aren't just reserved for the wealthy, influencers, people with large backyards, or hospitality companies.
Now, they're being used to house those who need it the most: people without homes.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Over the last several years, tiny home "villages" that shelter people until they can find long-term housing have been popping up across the US with the help of government funding and nonprofits.
The tiny homes at the Chandler Street Tiny Home Village.
Brittany Chang/Insider
And Washington-based Pallet is the brain and arm power behind the mass production of these little prefabricated homes.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Pallet's units are designed to shelter people who are unhoused because of natural disasters and personal struggles.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The Washington-based company currently prefabricates a 64-square-foot and 100-square-foot tiny home, bathroom, and office in its large factory space in Everett, Washington.
Brittany Chang/Insider
When completed, the units are flat-packed and shipped to the village's site. After an hour of assembly, Pallet's tiny homes are ready to greet their first occupants.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The smallest $7,500 "Pallet 64" is prevalent at many of these tiny home villages, which are often operated and paid for by both nonprofits and governments.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Think of it as a small college dorm room that can sleep up to two people.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Inside, there are nine-foot ceilings, windows, plenty of built-in storage units …
Brittany Chang/Insider
… outlets, and a desk that can convert into another bed.
Brittany Chang/Insider
There are also necessities like lights, a locking door, and insulated walls.
Brittany Chang/Insider
And this particular tiny home at Everett Gospel Mission's village also has the optional heating and cooling system that can handle even the chilliest East Coast winters.
Brittany Chang/Insider
If you're already housed, you might not think much about your locking front door.
Brittany Chang/Insider
But for people who are transitioning from life on the streets to living in a secure shelter, these simple locks provide a crucial but previously nonexistent form of security.
Brittany Chang/Insider
"Having a locking door can sometimes become the difference between accepting help getting off the street and making a step towards permanent supportive housing," Rowan Vansleve, CFO of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, told Insider in 2021.
Nonprofit Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission has also been using Pallet's shelters to create colorful multimillion-dollar tiny home villages throughout Los Angeles, shown below.
Tiny homes at the Chandler Street Tiny Home Village.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The Pallet-based villages also provide occupants with meals, bathrooms, showers, and social services like substance abuse treatment.
Brittany Chang/Insider
This holistic care, combined with a private — albeit tiny — home, then gives the previously unsheltered residents a chance to move toward permanent and stable housing solutions.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Some tiny home villages like the one at Everett Gospel Mission are temporary.
Brittany Chang/Insider
But the tiny homes can last over 10 years. And once a site's contract has expired, the homes can be forklifted onto a flatbed truck or disassembled in under an hour to be moved to a new site.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Of course, Pallet isn't the only solution to our ongoing housing and homelessness crisis.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The traditional congregate shelter system is currently more prevalent in the US.
Brittany Chang/Insider
And they're still a necessity: The homelessness crisis is so dire, all possible solutions are needed.
Brittany Chang/Insider
But these structures can't be built overnight or assembled in an hour like Pallet's can.
Brittany Chang/Insider
And according to Amy King, Pallet's CEO, a majority of people who are unhoused don't feel "comfortable" in these congregate shelters because of COVID-19, trauma responses, and how triggering living in shared spaces can be.
Brittany Chang/Insider
But by building personal tiny homes, Pallet says it's creating a more "dignified" option for people who may otherwise reject help in a congregate setting.
Brittany Chang/Insider
And so far, the company's model of decency and safe personal shelters has been a success in cities across the US.
Brittany Chang/Insider
There are about 100 Pallet shelters housing over 2,000 people in states like Texas, Colorado, Hawaii, and New Jersey.
The Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village in Los Angeles.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Josh Kerns, Pallet's public relations manager, told Insider in an email that occupancy is "generally pretty close to 100% (anecdotally)."
Brittany Chang/Insider
And many of the villages, including those in Los Angeles and Everett, Washington, now have a waitlist.
Brittany Chang/Insider
"Cities trying out this new model [are] getting much higher acceptance rates amongst individuals that are traditionally service adverse and don't want help [in a congregate setting]," King told Insider.
Brittany Chang/Insider
"If you offer them an individual shelter solution in a broader community where services are provided, they'll accept that," she said.
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