HIGH POINT, N.C. — Cooler temperatures are inconvenient for most but it's downright dangerous for people who are homeless.
Tiny homes could be a solution, but not the ones you might see online.
Temporary homeless shelters are coming to the Triad and they're even smaller. Greensboro and High Point are committed to the idea as winter approaches.
Open Door Ministries in High Point got a grant last winter to buy five Pallet Shelters. Initially, the nonprofit homeless shelter intended to use them for COVID-19 quarantining. Executive Director Ryan Ross said his organization was among the first on the East Coast to get them.
"Over the next few years, you can really see this change the look of homelessness in our area at least to provide temporary services to people," Ross said.
Pallet shelters are approximately 64 square feet in size and will feature two single beds and a heat source. Each one can be assembled or broken down in about 45 minutes.
Ross and his staff are hoping to put the five homes up in their parking lot this winter. He said their shelter is routinely at capacity and they will be able to house up to 10 more people with the pallet shelters in place.
Surveillance cameras and shelter staff will monitor the residents overnight to make sure they stay safe.
"These kinds of shelters you can tell as soon as you walk in that it keeps the wind and rain obviously but there's also a degree of warmth that it also provides," Ross said.
Greensboro City Council approved $535,014 to purchase 40 of the structures. Now, both cities are working through permitting to have them ready to go as winter approaches.
Greensboro officials said there will also be a mobile bathroom on-site, along with case management and overnight security.
Critics of these shelters argue in favor of more permanent solutions. Scott Jones works with Tiny House Community Development, Inc., a non-profit that builds tiny homes.
"These shelter houses are literally a half-inch thick and that's not acceptable in my opinion for housing," Jones said.
Ross said it's about giving people somewhere to stay off the street in the meantime.
"Long term, obviously housing is the goal, but the immediate need of what we're working with and for that going forward over the next 10 to 15 years that's what we're really focusing on," Ross said.
Open Door Ministries hopes to have their pallet shelters in place in the next month or so.