EVERETT — The Everett Gospel Mission’s Pallet shelter village will receive over $705,000 in state funds to keep its shelter operations alive for another year.
On Wednesday, the City Council accepted the money made available by the state Department of Commerce’s emergency housing funds. But after the latest money dries up, it’s unclear where the city will find support for the program going forward.
“We do not know if these specific funds will be available in future years at this time,” Julie Willie, the city’s community development director, wrote in an email.
Opened in 2021, the shelter project is a partnership between the mission on Smith Avenue and Pallet, an Everett-based company that manufactures small temporary housing units for unsheltered people. Not only do the units provide a roof and a bed, but they allow residents to be close to the mission, which can provide them access to meals, case management and other services.
People using the Pallet shelters are also required to enroll in Snohomish County’s Coordinated Entry, granting them access to local resources that help them to find permanent housing.
The Pallet community sits in City Council member Paula Rhyne’s district. She recently toured the Everett Gospel Mission and the Pallet community, finding it to be a great place for people to find housing and stability in a dire time of need.
A tiny homes program that opened in early July began with each unit claimed and a wait list of 60. Here Patrick Diller, head of community partnerships for Pallet, discusses the Pallet Shelter Pilot Project on June 29, 2021 in Everett. (Katie Hayes / Herald file)
“Businesses nearby say the shelter has been a great neighbor,” she told The Daily Herald.
John Hull, the mission’s director for strategic development, said the annual cost of operating the shelter is about $700,000. With the mission unable to cover that itself, the operation relies entirely on government funding, Hull said.
The shelter got its start with money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. With the one-time funds, the mission installed 20 Pallet units, later expanding with 20 more last year.
Commerce’s emergency housing funds have helped to extend expiring pandemic-related projects.
Along with the expansion last year, Hull said the mission has increased the number of staff at the Pallet shelter village. This improved services for the residents but also upped maintenance costs.
More Pallet communities are expected to pop up in Everett soon. Projects in the works include an eight-unit shelter for families at Faith Lutheran Church, 6708 Cady Road, and a 20-unit shelter run by Volunteers of America at the northeast end of Sievers Duecy Boulevard.
Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.
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