‘Pallet homes’ currently not being pursued by city of Spokane or Dept. of Commerce
SPOKANE, Wash. — On Wednesday, Camp Hope residents told 4 News that they are enduring claims of violence and challenging living conditions, in the hopes of being awarded a pallet home in the near future.
“There’s supposed to be little tiny homes that we’re supposed to get,” said one resident who wished to remain anonymous. She told 4 News that if they left the encampment, they would no longer qualify to receive one.
Rather than leave the encampment many of the 650+ homeless living there are bearing down, hopeful that this housing solution will come to fruition.
“There’s a lot of good to that,” said Timothy Morgan, who works security at the camp. “But there’s also people being held back because of that promise and the ability to be able to get it. They feel like if they leave the situation they’ll miss out on that.”
Unfortunately, there are no plans to develop a pallet community in Spokane, at least not at this time.
“The city of Spokane is not associated with any pallet home concepts,” said Brian Coddington, communications director for the city of Spokane.
The concept for a pallet home village was submitted to the Department of Commerce over the summer. The proposal was reviewed by Commerce, but ultimately not approved.
“And it was a recommendation that was not universally agreed upon and supported concept,” said Coddington.
Coddington says only two proposals have been approved and formally accepted by Commerce to address homelessness.
The first is an assessment process, run by Empire Health Foundation.
“That would be a process of meeting individually with people at the [Camp Hope] property,” explained Coddington. “Getting to know their situation and their need.”
Those assessments would then be considered. They would work to match the needs of those living at the encampment with the appropriate housing solution.
“That’s a process that will take a period of weeks to be able to complete. There’s a few hundred individuals that need to be assessed and evaluated for the next steps in their journey, and that process is one that doesn’t happen overnight.”
The second proposal was to convert the Quality Inn Motel on Sunset Blvd. into a long-term housing solution for those living at Camp Hope.
That proposal has since been met with a lawsuit by residents that live near the motel.
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