EVERETT, Wash. — As a leader of a city in a pandemic, Mayor Cassie Franklin has a lot on her plate and the main course on that plate is figuring out how to get more people into shelter
"Being able to be innovative and flexible, and try out something like this is really important," Franklin said.
She's talking about a new initiative to bring 20 low-barrier Pallet shelters to the city. They're like tiny homes that are locally made and easy to put up. The village will have a supervisor living on the grounds, access to showers and food.
The village will go up in an empty lot near Smith Avenue — an area where a large encampment has formed over the years. Franklin says these shelters are a good option for those who may not meet the qualifications for other shelters.
"They can go in as a couple, they can bring their dog or all their belongings and some of those barriers that shelters have don't allow that," she said.
In a pandemic, it's also a way to house people while maintaining social distance.
With addition, however comes subtraction. When the Pallet homes go up, the city is considering creating a "no-sit no-lie" ordinance just for the area near Smith Avenue. This is in direct response to nearby businesses that have experienced more crime as the encampment grows.
With Mercer Island making headlines for its ban on camping on public property, Franklin said Everett's proposal is different.
Franklin said Everett's efforts are more about striking a balance than criminalizing homelessness. The ordinance would not be in effect throughout the entire city.
"Anyone who kind of drives through Everett has seen the impact of around Smith Avenue," Franklin said. "So addressing that core challenging area with something like this, I think could benefit the businesses. But still, it's such a small geographic footprint, that it doesn't negatively impact people who are living outside right now."
The village is a pilot project, one that the mayor hopes turns into a permanent solution and the creation of more like it.
"They can be inside, have the dignity of four walls around them, get stabilized and then a lot of the challenges that the businesses are experiencing in the neighboring facility can be addressed," she said.
The city of Everett hopes to have the Pallet homes open by June, but there's a lot of steps that have to happen first, including approving permits, conducting neighborhood outreach and finding a partner organization to help.