Everett opens new 20-unit Pallet shelter
Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, April 28, 2026
EVERETT — Everett city officials and nonprofit leaders gathered on Monday to open the city’s third Pallet shelter, located in southwest Everett.
The facility, located along Sievers Duecy Boulevard, features 20 shelter units, each with space for one adult and three children. It also includes a playground and laundry facilities for the residents to use. The shelter will only be available to women and their children, who would be able to stay for up to 12 months.
Pallet is an Everett-based company that builds small shelters made of prefabricated, insulated panels that last up to 10 years. Each shelter can be assembled in less than an hour.
The latest shelter facility will be operated by the nonprofit Volunteers of America Western Washington.
In 2022, the city allocated $2.7 million of COVID relief dollars toward Pallet shelter projects, three of which are now located within the city. Snohomish County also chipped in $75,000 from an affordable housing fund.
The city’s first Pallet shelter opened in 2021 near the Everett Gospel Mission, which manages the site. Another Pallet shelter opened in 2024 behind Faith Lutheran Church in Everett.
Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin said the new site would provide access to services and support, along with a sense of safety and belonging for the residents using the shelter.
“Staying the course and providing shelter is incredibly important,” Franklin said. “Housing is fundamental, and the need for shelter and housing is significant. This is a fabulous temporary use of the city-owned property.”
The shelter will be open for two years after the first units are occupied. Residents using the site must be “committed to sobriety,” said Galina Volchkova, the executive director of housing services at Volunteers of America Western Washington. The nonprofit provides other support and housing options to individuals undergoing substance abuse challenges, she said, but the new shelter would not be able to accommodate that because of the children on site.
“Yes, this place is not permanent housing, but it will offer a safe place to sleep, take a shower, do laundry, celebrate a child’s birthday and have a community,” Volchkova said in a speech.
The shelter faced some pushback in the planning stages. In 2024, nearby residents filed an appeal with the city’s hearing examiner, arguing that the city’s comprehensive plan prohibited the city from using the land as a shelter site. That appeal was dismissed. The neighborhood group then sued in Snohomish County Superior Court and the city reached a settlement with the group in March 2025.
Those delays meant the shelter took about three and a half years to open, Volunteers of America Western Washington CEO Brian Smith said Monday.
Volchkova shared the story of a mother she worked with to try and find housing options. The mother and her two sons were living in a tent for several months because her job didn’t bring in enough money to rent an apartment.
It took time, but the nonprofit helped her find a new home, Volchkova said. She just wished that family would have had a place like the new shelter to sleep at night.
“She got housed,” Volchkova said. “But now I’m thinking, I wish we had this beautiful place for that mom immediately. For that mom and for many, many others.”
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
