“I do think that the pallet communities present a very flexible and rapid response to a very critical problem,” said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber.
“We have not chosen any sites and are still in the process to figure out what the best strategy is to communicate to our constituents and our residents where and how these are going to be managed,” said Alma Castro, Santa Fe City Councilor.
Now the city’s ten pallet homes are located in the parking lot of the Christ Lutheran church which helps manage the site. Out of the 29 people that have lived there, the city says five people have found permanent housing while another five are on a waiting list.
Mayor Alan Webber said, “I think it’s a phenomenal success by all measures. It is safe for the residents and for the neighborhood and people begin to get their bearings. They get in a safe place to live.”
The Mayor said, “We need master leases in motels and hotels where we can house homeless people. We need to continue to look for an apartment building or something to buy. We need a day service center.”
You can watch a video at www.youtube.com
Where’s the bathroom?
I think that they have communal bathrooms separate from the dwelling units.
Here is the program for building tiny cottages for homeless in my hometown. The price is about the same as a pallet shelter, only an organization will sponsor a cottage, and then over the course of a weekend volunteers and one skilled carpenter can make one. Sheetrocking and wiring takes a little longer. As you can see, this involves the community directly and isn’t just paying for a flat pack shelter from a company. In Eugene, this has involved churches, businesses, individuals, shop classes at high schools and junior cottages and has become a source of pride for the community. I believe anyone can get the plans from this site and do it themselves. Residents decorate themselves and it has a porch. If a resident can find an ADA situation, these cottages are on skids and these can be easily moved the a property where the person can make a permanent home.
https://onehopenetwork.org/cottages-of-hope
These can have the wind pass right through them. I think they make claims about insulation of a sort, but they will savagely match the temperature outside, so unless you get the air conditioning unit with one of these they would be brutal in a Santa Fe in the summer. I have spent a summer in one without air conditioning, although not in a desert, and it was pretty bad. They are also a major fire hazard, and if one of those plastic things go up, they will all go up. They are expensive. The best thing about them is they go up fast with minimal tools and the doors do have a lock, but there is safety hatch at the back for emergencies so anyone could break into one easily. I think for disaster situations where you need places for a lot of people after a natural disaster, and you have a lot of money to spend, they are good. At the transitional village I used to live, they are replacing these as fast as they can with basic insulated and sheet-rocked tiny homes and people are much happier. People don’t take care of these the way they do a tiny house or shed. If you had these in a fenced in situation with some sort of security, they are better than the streets, but they are pretty dismal.
While what you say may be true of homes made from actual pallets, these homes are quite different. If you go to their website ( palletshelter.com ) you will find that “we use fiberglass reinforced plastic with a foam insulating core for the panels and shelves. Plus, we use aluminum framing.”
I gave a detailed account of actually living in one of those shelters. And you are contradicting that by the promotional materials on their website. And assuming I can’t tell the difference between one of them and a home made from wooden pallets. Oh Lord. What is the point of communicating useful information if people don’t even bother to read it? Never mind.
I did read your comment, and came to the conclusion that you had thought the article was about actual wooden pallet homes. Sorry for the confusion.