When freezing temperatures hit Washington state’s Tulalip Indian Reservation a few years ago, the leaders of the sovereign nation of Tulalip Tribes needed to find a way to protect their unhoused population from the extreme weather. At the time, Tulalip handed out motel vouchers. Looking back, community leaders realized that approach was only a Band-Aid that provided immediate shelter and little else; they lost track of residents after the ground thawed.
This year, the nation turned to Pallet, a startup based in Everett, Wash., that builds villages of prefabricated, tiny homes that offer private, secure shelter to unhoused people.
