NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As many as 25 Pallet shelters could now be up for grabs as Metro Nashville searches for partners interested in building shelter communities.
Metro officials published a Request for Proposals or RFP, in hopes of finding community partners who can do the following:
- Prepare the Pallet shelter site for use and ensure compliance
- Provide resident services and operational oversight
- Coordinate on-site supportive services
- Track and report shelter use in conjunction with the Homeless Management Information Systems
“These shelters are temporary housing solutions for our most vulnerable neighbors who need to be housed and connected with supportive services,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said in the press release.
“I’m grateful for the work of the working group that has facilitated the repurposing of these shelters from infectious disease aids to temporary emergency housing options.”
The RFP is just the latest development after years of reporting from NewsChannel5 Investigates, where we asked: What's next for these shelters?
In 2021, Metro Nashville spent $1.2 million on 108 shelters from Pallet, utilizing COVID-19 relief funds with the intention of providing emergency shelter in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
These non-congregate structures are built in pieces using insulated panels and designed for rapid deployment.
Except for a few shelters once deployed outside the Nashville Rescue Mission as COVID-19 isolation pods, these shelters have largely been confined to a warehouse.
Metro now says they’re willing to part with up to 25 of these shelters through community partnerships, but that still leaves many others unaccounted for.
NewsChannel5 Investigates sent questions to Metro about what they plan to do with the remaining shelters and are still waiting for a response.
Much of this stems from 2023 when the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, which oversees the state Fire Marshal’s office, told NewsChannel5 Investigates that before they could approve Nashville’s use of these shelters, Metro had to find an inspector willing to sign off on the product’s safety.
Years went by before last October, when Metro finally managed to receive conditional approval to deploy these shelters for temporary housing.
State officials mentioned the lack of a thermal barrier around these shelters, but Metro has since agreed to pay for installing these barriers and keeping the shelters in compliance.
Metro officials say they will also cover, “the cost of transporting the Pallet shelters to the proposed site, covering the cost of assembly and any necessary repairs.”
“We are eager to deploy the Pallet shelters,” said April Calvin, Director of the Office of Homeless Services. “It’s going to take all creative solutions to address the need.”
Metro’s RFP says proposals, “should offer solutions that prioritize temporary housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelter while incorporating the creation of community-use spaces and spaces where a variety of social services can be administered to homeless individuals and couples. Project concepts should also prioritize services for individuals who, for whatever reason, are unable to access shelter in a group shelter setting, whether because of safety concerns, they have pets that are not permitted in shelters or cannot be housed with their partner or spouse.”
This mirrors much of what Pallet CEO Amy King told NewsChannel5 Investigates in 2023 as the ideal way of using her products.
“When we created the product and the concept of the village model, it was meant for both things. To be clear, at Pallet, we believe that homelessness is an emergency and should be treated as such,” King said.
At the time, King said they had already built 120 villages in 85 cities across 22 states.
Two years later and according to Pallet, that number has now increased to 125+ villages built in 119 cities across 29 states and three provinces.
King said most people stayed in these shelters for between three and six months, but they were also surrounded by infrastructure and local services to help them find stability.
Metro will now require both out of any community partners interested in acquiring these shelters.
That includes adequate lighting, electrical service, water access, and suitable foundations for each shelter.
Operators will also have to provide access to facilities for basic needs like toilets, showers, food, laundry, trash, a community space, and supervision/security services.
Metro officials have long acknowledged that it’s a lot to ask out of any one community partner, which could explain why this RFP took as long as it did to develop.
“On the operating side, it does cost money to operate these sites and it should. These sites need management. They need provisions. People who live there need access to running water, access to hygiene, and access to food,” King said.
It’s for those reasons King says they no longer ship their shelters to any city where they don’t have a plan to offer essential services.
The next key deadline for Metro’s shelter plans is on June 4 when concept papers are due, followed by a walkthrough for applicants on June 6 who submitted concept papers.
Full proposals are due to Metro by June 20.
