Pallet is making $7,500 prefab tiny homes that can be setup in 1 hour to help solve the homelessness crisis see inside a unit at a Washington village

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• Washington-based Pallet is building prefab tiny homes to provide shelter for people who are unhoused.
• Its smallest $7,500 64-square-foot unit "Pallet 64" is now being used in villages across the US.

Bigger isn't always better, according to the rising interest in tiny homes.

A New Frontier tiny home designed by David Latimer.      Studio Bull/New Frontier Design

Tiny home sales skyrocketed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shelby Wilray

Some consumers wanted to downsize their primary residences. Others wanted a separate office during the rise in remote work. A few people were even using tiny homes as a private backyard gym.

Courtesy of Adobu

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The public's love for this minimalist lifestyle was so high, a 330-square-foot home in Santa Cruz, California sold for over $1 million in 2021.

The 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.      Aerial Canvas

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Despite what you may see on social media, tiny homes aren't just reserved for the wealthy, influencers, people with large backyards, or hospitality companies.

Michelle Boyle

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Now, they're being used to house those who need it the most: people without homes.

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Over the last several years, tiny home "villages" that shelter people until they can find long-term housing have been popping up across the US with the help of government funding and nonprofits.

The tiny homes at the Chandler Street Tiny Home Village.      Brittany Chang/Insider

And Washington-based Pallet is the brain and arm power behind the mass production of these little prefabricated homes.

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Pallet's units are designed to shelter people who are unhoused because of natural disasters and personal struggles.

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The Washington-based company currently prefabricates a 64-square-foot and 100-square-foot tiny home, bathroom, and office in its large factory space in Everett, Washington.

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When completed, the units are flat-packed and shipped to the village's site. After an hour of assembly, Pallet's tiny homes are ready to greet their first occupants.

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The smallest $7,500 "Pallet 64" is prevalent at many of these tiny home villages, which are often operated and paid for by both nonprofits and governments.

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Think of it as a small college dorm room that can sleep up to two people.

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Inside, there are nine-foot ceilings, windows, plenty of built-in storage units …

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… outlets, and a desk that can convert into another bed.

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There are also necessities like lights, a locking door, and insulated walls.

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And this particular tiny home at Everett Gospel Mission's village also has the optional heating and cooling system that can handle even the chilliest East Coast winters.

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If you're already housed, you might not think much about your locking front door.

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But for people who are transitioning from life on the streets to living in a secure shelter, these simple locks provide a crucial but previously nonexistent form of security.

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"Having a locking door can sometimes become the difference between accepting help getting off the street and making a step towards permanent supportive housing," Rowan Vansleve, CFO of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, told Insider in 2021.

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Nonprofit Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission has also been using Pallet's shelters to create colorful multimillion-dollar tiny home villages throughout Los Angeles, shown below.

Tiny homes at the Chandler Street Tiny Home Village.      Brittany Chang/Insider

The Pallet-based villages also provide occupants with meals, bathrooms, showers, and social services like substance abuse treatment.

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This holistic care, combined with a private — albeit tiny — home, then gives the previously unsheltered residents a chance to move toward permanent and stable housing solutions.

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Some tiny home villages like the one at Everett Gospel Mission are temporary.

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But the tiny homes can last over 10 years. And once a site's contract has expired, the homes can be forklifted onto a flatbed truck or disassembled in under an hour to be moved to a new site.

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Of course, Pallet isn't the only solution to our ongoing housing and homelessness crisis.

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The traditional congregate shelter system is currently more prevalent in the US.

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And they're still a necessity: The homelessness crisis is so dire, all possible solutions are needed.

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But these structures can't be built overnight or assembled in an hour like Pallet's can.

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And according to Amy King, Pallet's CEO, a majority of people who are unhoused don't feel "comfortable" in these congregate shelters because of COVID-19, trauma responses, and how triggering living in shared spaces can be.

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But by building personal tiny homes, Pallet says it's creating a more "dignified" option for people who may otherwise reject help in a congregate setting.

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And so far, the company's model of decency and safe personal shelters has been a success in cities across the US.

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There are about 100 Pallet shelters housing over 2,000 people in states like Texas, Colorado, Hawaii, and New Jersey.

The Alexandria Park Tiny Home Village in Los Angeles.      Brittany Chang/Insider

Josh Kerns, Pallet's public relations manager, told Insider in an email that occupancy is "generally pretty close to 100% (anecdotally)."

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And many of the villages, including those in Los Angeles and Everett, Washington, now have a waitlist.

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"Cities trying out this new model [are] getting much higher acceptance rates amongst individuals that are traditionally service adverse and don't want help [in a congregate setting]," King told Insider.

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"If you offer them an individual shelter solution in a broader community where services are provided, they'll accept that," she said.

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