Vulnerable People and Places Blog

  Pallet, a Washington social purpose company has revolutionized the homeless shelter, and stands as the most impactful organization to lift people off the streets. The new 64 square foot shelters can be built in as little as one hour, about 40 shelters in one week, and cost only $5,495 each. These cutting edge pallet shelters last over 10 years, contain a fire extinguisher, CO monitor, smoke detector, a secure ventilation system, locks, windows, lights, a structural floor capable of being placed on any surface, air conditioning, heating, electricity, and two beds. Additionally, these shelters can withstand winds of up to 110 mph, 25 lb. per square feet of snow, and they are easily cleaned and disassembled. Pallet has now built shelter communities across the US, including 11 active sites in Oregon. You can see these shelters in Old Town off NW Hoyt St, N Mississippi Ave near Fremont Bridge, and towards Hawthorne next to SE Stephens St. CEO and Founder, Amy King, realized that ...

The end of a recent campaign to end youth homelessness in Washington’s King County was unsuccessful and has yet to get started again. The End Youth Homelessness Now Campaign, supported by federal grants and $1.2 million dollars from philanthropists had a bold timeline of eliminating youth homelessness by 2021. The percentage of homeless youth housed in 2020 remained unchanged from before the campaign - 31%, making up only less than a thousand people. In King County, youth homelessness had been on the decline before the campaign launched. Since 2016, unaccompanied youth and young adults under 25 dropped from 14% of the entire population in the county homeless counts to 8% — fewer than 1,000 people — in January 2020. According to a draft version of an analysis obtained by The Seattle Times, youth homelessness could be solved with a $27.5 million infusion if the system continues operating as it has. But if the system’s performance were to be improved even modestly, the problem could be s...