Seattle builds tiny home village for city’s homeless drug users displaced by FIFA World Cup games

Seattle is in the process of building a tiny home village intended to house the city's homeless population ahead of the FIFA World Cup coming to the Emerald City on June 15.
 

Andrea Suarez of We Heart Seattle said that the Bay View Pallet Shelter Village, located near 15th and Armory Way, is being operated by Everyone Deserves Housing. "People moving in here will be the people most highly affected by FIFA World Cup or displaced by World Cup." The housing village will be "low barrier," she said, which means drug users will be allowed access, and the facility is set to open on June 8. 

"These units are between the While Foods, an animal shelter, and multiple storage units, as well as a liquor store, so there’s a lot of opportunity here for the businesses to get involved," she said. 

The project is part of an accelerated push by Mayor Katie Wilson’s administration to add at least 500 shelter units to the city by the World Cup. City officials say the effort is designed to move people off downtown streets and out of high-visibility areas near Lumen Field before fans descend on the city. The village features small 120-square-foot shelters with shared bathrooms and kitchens. Reminiscent of Seattle's existing tiny homes, the location operates under the controversial low-barrier model that does not require residents to be sober and allows the use of fentanyl and other deadly drugs.

The operation is not without detractors. According to reporting by the Seattle Times, homeless advocates and some city council members are arguing that the city should spend more per shelter, saying that Seattle's homeless population needs intensive services attached to the shelter to help overcome the widespread mental health and substance use issues. There is an issue with funding, however, and adding mental health services to an already pricey project may prove unfeasible, especially in a year where the city is experiencing budget cuts. 
 

The mayor’s office initially estimated that the first 500 units, which the city has not shared what kind of units these would include, would cost $28,000 per year. However, they later acknowledged that higher support shelters could cost closer to $45,000 per year. While the mayor has identified $17.5 million from the city budget to go towards housing costs, it would only partially cover the 500 units if each were the more expensive $45,000 price tag. 

Supporters of the plan argue that while the shelters are not a permanent solution, they provide an immediate alternative to unsheltered living as Seattle prepares to host a major international event.