Business offering fast, relatively cheap housing for homeless stops in Modesto
A few dozen people got a look Tuesday in downtown Modesto at a solution that supporters say is an affordable and quick way to get homeless people off the streets.
A crew from Pallet Shelter — a Washington State-based company — set up a demonstration outside of Ralston’s Goat at J and 11th streets of one of the company’s 64-square-foot shelters that was equipped with two single beds, an air conditioner, heater, electrical outlets and shelving.
The shelters have aluminum framing, windows, a door that locks, and are made of panels composed of fiberglass reinforced plastic with styrofoam core insulation. All of this rests on a composite plastic floor. The shelters can be set up in about 30 minutes and rest securely on any flat surface, including church parking lots, sports fields and dirt lots.
The shelters are a bridge between living on the streets or a homeless shelter to permanent housing. A company representative said about 50 communities across the United States, including about a dozen in California, use these shelters to provide housing for homeless people.
He said communities typically put together several dozen of the shelters in one site and combine them with on-site managers, case management and other services, including security. He said homeless people generally live in one of the shelters for about six months until making the move to permanent housing. Any shelter site also would need utilities and bathrooms.
A two-bed shelter costs about $7,000
Besides the 64-square-foot shelter, the company has a 100-square-foot shelter that can have as many as four beds.
Modesto homeless advocate Frank Ploof asked Pallet Shelter to come to Modesto. The Pallet Shelter crew had planned to be in the area after stopping in cities in the Bay Area. It planned on setting up a demonstration later Tuesday in Manteca.
Ploof said in an interview that Pallet Shelter offers a quick and fast way to provide bridge housing in a community that offers lots of homeless services but not enough housing. The model on display Tuesday costs about $7,000. But Ploof said that is a bargain compared to traditional housing options for homeless people.
He envisions communities made up of homeless people living in these shelters with similar backgrounds and challenges. He said a good place to start would be with one offering housing for as many as 150 seniors who have incomes but not enough to afford market rate housing. He said they would live in one of the shelters until they could find permanent housing in an affordable senior housing complex.
Options for decision makers
“We are trying to give decision-makers some options,” Ploof said. “Modesto has a thousand unsheltered (homeless) people. What do we do with a thousand people?”
He said it’s important the communities not get too large, like the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter, the city’s former tent city near the Tuolumne River that housed about 400 people. He said smaller communities are easier to manage and promote social cohesion and cooperation among residents.
Ploof said he expects the homelessness crisis will get worse once the state’s eviction moratorium is lifted and tenants behind in their rent lose their homes. The moratorium was put in place to help people stay housed in the pandemic and is expected to end in June.
Ploof worked with Modesto resident Steve Finch on Tuesday’s demonstration. The two are members of Stanislaus Homeless Advocacy and Resource Enterprise, a group of volunteers who help homeless people access services.
The demonstration drew city officials, including Community and Economic Development Director Jaylen French and Councilman Chris Ricci.
“The goal of the demonstration today is to get our community talking about possible solutions that are affordable, that are doable to help take a bite out of this problem,” Ricci said. “... I’m not saying we have to do this specific thing. It could be this. It could be something else. But lets start talking about it.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
