Pallet, Based in Everett, Washington, Shuts Down After Nine Years of Making Micro-Shelters for Homeless People

Pallet, a social purpose corporation based in Everett, Washington, was founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife team Amy and Brady King to provide modular shelters for people experiencing homelessness. The company’s units could be shipped flat and assembled on site in under an hour using durable panels and minimal tools, without specialized equipment.

Over the following years, Pallet deployed shelters across the United States and Canada. One report said the company installed hundreds of units and facilitated thousands of overnight stays. Another said Pallet deployed more than 100 transitional villages across North America, providing more than 6,000 temporary beds. In Tacoma, micro-shelters were authorized and about 40 units were incorporated into a camp. Pallet also raised more than $18 million in venture and impact funding, including a $15 million Series A round in 2022. The company provided shelter to people who needed a place to sleep at night, offering hospitality to neighbors without a home (Matthew 25:35).

A 2026 study noted that such initiatives are among possible responses to the housing crisis, though it said evidence of their effectiveness remains limited.

In September 2026, Pallet announced it would close its operations, nine years after its creation. In a website post, the company said customer needs had become more complex and that funding environments and political priorities had shifted. According to one report, Pallet said changes in financing and political priorities had made it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of its clients.

The two reports differ on the scale of Pallet’s reach. One attributed to Pallet’s own figures that the company provided 6,083 beds across more than 100 temporary villages, serving approximately 30,000 people. The other described the 30,000 figure as an estimate of individuals served.

Reporting on Seattle described the contract budget for a 75-unit Interbay shelter with the city’s Human Services Department as having reportedly tripled, from $1.3 million to nearly $4 million. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson called Pallet’s closure unfortunate.