The City of Lawrence is bringing a new solution for emergency, non-congregate sheltering to the community: a Pallet Shelter village. Pallet provides transitional shelter cabins that help bridge the gap from living on the street to finding permanent housing. The Pallet Shelter village will help meet current emergency shelter needs, and it is a key piece in ongoing, community-wide efforts to end chronic homelessness in Lawrence and Douglas County.
“We are committed to making Lawrence a community where all people can feel at home, can feel safe and can enjoy life,” said Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire. “This includes our community members experiencing homelessness, and the City is working hard to provide needed emergency shelter resources. While we’re excited by the interim need that Pallet can fill, our work is far from done.”
The City of Lawrence and Douglas County, Kansas, made a commitment to the “Built for Zero” initiative, which provides strategies to end chronic homelessness in this community. The ultimate solution to homelessness is housing, and efforts by the City and community partners to increase the amount of affordable housing are ongoing. While this work happens, immediate interventions like Pallet will help transition people experiencing homelessness off the street and into, non-congregate emergency shelter facilities where they can access services to aid their recovery from homelessness.
The City’s immediate goal is to develop an adequate amount of emergency shelter facilities for Lawrence community members in need on any given night.
Pallet cabins include heating and cooling and are constructed in a support village setting. The village setting includes facilities for restrooms, laundry, shower and community gathering and office space for providers of supportive services. Shelter villages are supported with on-site staff and include a variety of safety features, such as cabins with locking doors, infrastructure with exterior fencing, a locked and monitored point of entry and adequate lighting.
“We believe housing is a basic human right that all people are entitled to have,” said Pallet Founder and CEO Amy King. “As some communities look to innovative plans to solve the current housing crisis, we need to work together to find comprehensive solutions to end unsheltered homelessness.”
The City’s purchase of Pallet cabins will be on the agenda for City Commission approval at the meeting on Tuesday, March 21. Additionally, City Commission will be asked to approve the City’s purchase of land at 256 N Michigan St., which will be used for a Pallet Shelter village. The City is committed to working with the surrounding neighborhood to make the Pallet Shelter village a successful addition.
Emergency shelter solutions like a Pallet Shelter village are necessary to help people currently experiencing homelessness, but they are not the permanent answer. The City expects to utilize the Pallet Shelter Village for three-to-five years while additional transitional, supportive and affordable housing options are developed.
More information on the Pallet Shelter village is online at: lawrenceks.org/homeless-solutions/pallet-shelter-village.
Contact: Housing Initiatives Division at homelessprograms@lawrenceks.org