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Follow-Up: Plans for little house village for emergency winter housing gets swift response
Photo: 60 Sonoma County Pallet Shelters
Our story yesterday about the potential of individual pallet housing units being used for emergency shelter as cold weather approaches resulted in a flurry activity to clarify and update. News stories followed with multiple media outlets, including one which showed a cleared swath of land at the Pastore Center, supposedly being prepared for the housing units.
When we began this story, about a month ago, we were tracking 10 to 20 units – and possibly as many as 100 that were already in Rhode Island, waiting to be utilized.
Most agencies wouldn’t speak about the Pallet Plan – some denied that it was being talked about at all – all said there were no units in Rhode Island.
Ken Hopkins, the Mayor of Cranston went on the radio with Gene Valicenti on WPRO to say that he had been visited last Friday, October 7th by the Governor’s Director of Constituency Affairs to talk about the Pastore Center placement possibility. He confirmed that the state wanted to do the program last year, but it never happened because of the city’s opposition.
That interview can be heard here:
New statements from the “housing czar” Josh Saal:
“To be clear: There are no current plans to install Pallet Shelter units at the Pastore Complex in Cranston. Our office is working collaboratively with municipal leaders and non-profits across our state to explore innovation solutions to both provide immediate shelter for unhoused Rhode Islanders, and to help these individuals and families access services and supports that put them on a path toward permanent housing.
Utilizing Pallet Shelters – which offer safe, non-congregate, 24-hour shelter to families in need and can be rapidly deployed at times in which the State is experiencing a surge in homelessness and rapidly dismantled when the need is lower – is an innovative and cost-efficient option we are currently evaluating.
The Pastore Complex is one of several potentially suitable sites we have visited to explore the feasibility of utilizing Pallet Shelters. All discussions with municipal officials in Cranston and elsewhere have been preliminary, and no decisions have been made.
In addition to releasing a statement, Saal has asked for time to go on with Gene Valicenti this morning – we will post that interview as soon as it is podcast – interested people can go to 630WPRO.com between 6 and 9am.
Our story from yesterday:
Pallet Housing Around Rhode Island
The Pallet Shelter company says that there are now 63 villages across the U.S. and says that most villages can be set up in as little as a day.
Emergency COVID Housing Opportunities (ECHO Village) – House of Hope
Going back months, the first mention of Pallet Shelters was during COVID when there was an urgent need to house the homeless NOT in a group setting. Plans began to build Echo Village by the House of Hope agency.
They noted that there were 325 unsheltered people at the time living on the streets, in cars, in encampments, or other spaces not meant for human habitation. 146 shelter beds had been removed from the emergency shelter system due to physical distancing requirements. They described their ECHO Village project to “provide 100 individuals with a safer, more dignified alternative to emergency shelter, along with a variety of services to achieve permanent housing”.
One unit was displayed in Pawtucket – at that time they also attempted to put Pallet Housing inside a warehouse to use the heat and facilities (note: the units do not have bathrooms or running water – usually a communal facility needs to be available). There was a press conference and it was said that the agency had 100 units ready to go. Nothing happened with that program.
In 2021 House of Hope director Jaworski said to the Valley Breeze, “House of Hope is also working on a more permanent plan for tiny houses for the homeless. That longer-term project is dubbed Kintsugi Park, named after the Japanese art form that binds broken pottery with gold or silver. The idea is that in repair, the piece becomes more beautiful. With homelessness, people come with all sorts of trauma and other hurts, said Jaworski, and instead of looking down on them, others should be looking for ways to build them up and treasure them.”
At that time, Dr. Hirsch, who heads a homeless coalition and is an advocate for housing and the poor in Rhode Island, as well as a professor at Providence College said that nonprofits and providers have been unable to identify sites — both rapidly deployable and in existing buildings — for shelter beds. He noted that the Pallet Shelters tiny prefabricated homes can be erected in half an hour. “In Rhode Island, House of Hope CDC has a proposed a group of those tiny homes called ECHO (Emergency COVID Housing Opportunities) Village. But after two years, they haven’t been able to find a location for the village. “We need the governor’s help to override the ‘Not in My Backyard’ sentiments that we find in the towns and cities,” said Hirsch.
Around the United States with Pallet Shelters
Pallet Shelter experience in Sonoma County, California:
Rhode Island would not be reinventing any wheels to utilize Pallet Shelters. Our research showed:
In Boston – there are 18 shelters, all state funded, having opened on December 27, 2021. They took 14 days to implement. The “village” offers 17 sleeping cabins, ranging in size from 64 to 100 square feet. A common room that is 500 sq ft offers companion services. The village is set up on the grounds of Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain. The hospital campus was going through an overhaul and had been closed in August. A group runs the village – the Boston Medical Center in collaboration with development partners, The Community Builders and JP Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Service Providers Pine Street Inn, Bay Cove Human Services, Victory Programs Inc, Health Care Resource Centers, and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program.
The Cottages were designed to be temporary structures to remain on site at least through the contract term of June 30, 2023. The program was seen as a seasonal solution for 154 people living in the “Mass & Cass” area.
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In Worcester
Because of a rising homeless population and a lack of housing, homelessness experts say Worcester may be at a point where leaders need to explore rapid housing options that other cities and states have pursued as a stopgap while new housing is under construction. Their homeless population has grown 43 percent, with 120 people living outdoors. They were considering a 21-unit tiny home village in 2023.
Pallet Villages around the US
This map shows where village housing as been set up.
Cranston location not their first choice
As best we can detail, the Cranston location is only the most recent for House of Hope’s project – locations in Pawtucket, Olneyville, the south side of Providence were all rejected by community opposition, and details such as zoning and fire codes.
See Laura Jaworski’s presentation in 2021 as reported on by UpriseRI:
I would prefer that the picture of 10/11/2022 be the front picture so that people can see what 30 to 40 homes can look like. Multiply that into 500 homes and see what happens. I understand why people don’t like congregate settings and I’m fortunate enough to have a roof.
The 30+ homes show a lack of access for emergency services, no fire hydrants, no lights and trash removal seems to be lacking. Imagine 500 homes in one place.
Will the State finance this into perpetuity or will Cranston end up paying for it in the long run? We will need to expand our police, fire, rescue & the monies associated with this. Trash is already at an all-time high. Sewer systems & water will need repairing or more from the former institutes which have probably been neglected.
I can’t compare the cost of human life to a dollar amount but where does it end? Nobody has a plan – not the agencies nor the State. It will just drop 500 homes and be done with it. There is no impact study of any kind – infrastructure, environment, services – nothing! Some will have children – do we have schools? Yes, some are new but aren’t built to handle an influx. No personal facilities but a communal – who maintains & cleans that & who pays for it? 500 homes need more than one facility.
I hate being a devil’s advocate but I can see a host of problems associated with this.
I agree with Stephen. What is all the dithering about. These should have been up last month before the temps started to drop at night and there are people out there who need to be safe and not crammed into group shelters, especially children but adults as well. Shame on RI government for not acting promptly and with vigor! There have been people sleeping in the woods at the entrance to Mt. Pleasant Parkway for most of the 18 years I’ve been in the neighborhood here in Elmhurst. These are a good start, especially if inside a warehouse with heat and running water and toilet facilities. It could be any of us.
Whether it be this, or some other means. Action is needed NOW.