The tiny houses that are providing shelter for the homeless in Lawrence aren’t growing any bigger, but they are set to grow in number. The Lawrence Community Shelter is seeking a special use permit to allow 24 pallet shelter homes to be built in eastern Lawrence. The pallet shelters are 64-square-foot prefabricated cabins that give people without a home, basic shelter. The city earlier this year opened its shelter village project that includes 50 of the small structures.
The cost of the project remains to be finalized, but the Shelter Board in June sought about $700,000 in additional funding from the city. A portion, but not all of that money, would help create the new pallet project. Shelter leaders told the city it already was enforcing its own policy of not providing services to people who don’t have a connection to the community. They do not accept individuals that are not Douglas County residents or cannot demonstrate an adequate connection to Douglas County.
