It Takes a Village

Hannan’s Village of Hope introduces a transformative approach to addressing homelessness through the innovative concept of Pallet Shelter Villages. These state-of-the-art, portable shelters provide a compassionate and empowering space for individuals navigating life’s most difficult challenges, serving as a bridge to stability and reintegration.

This initiative is supported by research showing that comprehensive support services can significantly reduce homelessness and improve long-term outcomes for marginalized populations. Studies indicate that access to stable housing combined with wraparound services leads to better health, increased employment, and reduced recidivism in homelessness.

A sample pallet shelter in Denver

Unsanctioned tent encampments with no support services and no oversight increase risks across the board—to physical and mental health, safety of self and belongings, and to the surrounding area in the form of increased crime. But when people enter a secure, organized shelter community with safe personal shelter with heat and air conditioning, meals, and professional support services for all aspects of their well-being, crime becomes unnecessary.

Our Roadmap

At Hannan's Village of Hope, we are committed to addressing some of Ontario’s most pressing challenges through innovative solutions that prioritize dignity, safety, and community impact. Our roadmap outlines our vision and the actionable steps we are taking to achieve transformative change.

Addressing Ontario’s Housing Crisis

Ontario faces a severe housing shortage, leaving thousands without stable shelter. Many are forced to live in unsanctioned encampments, enduring harsh conditions, limited safety, and restricted access to essential resources. Hannan's provides a viable alternative by offering affordable, rapidly deployable shelters with a 10+ year lifespan that can be set up in under an hour.

Our shelters prioritize dignity and security, providing residents with private units featuring locking doors, climate control, and storage. These spaces offer safety and comfort while enabling individuals to safeguard their belongings. By creating a secure and supportive environment, Hannan's Village of Hope replaces the vulnerabilities of encampments with a stable place to sleep, connect with services, and rebuild lives—free from the policing or displacement often associated with outdoor living.

In 2021, Toronto reported approximately 7,347 homeless individuals, with 2,014 classified as experiencing chronic homelessness. Hannan's aims to close this gap by reducing homelessness through stable housing and comprehensive support services.

Responding to the Opioid Epidemic

The opioid crisis in Ontario has reached devastating levels, with an average of 21 people dying daily in Canada due to opioid toxicity in early 2024. Hannan's Village of Hope adopts a harm reduction approach to combat this epidemic by providing 24/7 onsite support staff, including peers with lived experience, who foster trust and provide relatable guidance.

Residents at Hannan's will have direct access the support needed to take steps toward healing. By addressing substance use through compassion and connection, we aim to save lives and empower individuals to overcome addiction.

Fostering Community Impact

Beyond providing shelter and support, Hannan's Village of Hope is committed to improving the broader community. By offering designated, secure spaces for individuals experiencing homelessness, we contribute to a safer, cleaner, and more organized public environment. This approach reduces the risks and stigma associated with encampments while fostering a sense of dignity for those in need.

Our initiative not only enhances the lives of our residents but also strengthens community cohesion by bridging the gap between marginalized populations and the larger society. By reducing strain on public spaces and emergency services, Hannan's Village of Hope builds a more compassionate and unified city, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive.

Why a pallet shelter?

Pallet shelters offer an innovative and sustainable solution to the housing crisis, providing immediate, dignified housing options for individuals experiencing homelessness. The benefits of pallet shelters are many:

Affordable and Rapid Construction: Pallet shelters are cost-effective and can be set up in under an hour, making them an ideal solution to meet the urgent need for housing. Each unit is designed for longevity with a 10+ year material lifespan, offering a secure and long-term shelter for individuals. This rapid deployment is essential in providing quick relief to those who need it most.

Dignity and Privacy: Each pallet shelter offers a private, safe space where individuals can find security. With locking doors, climate control, and storage, residents are given the chance to safeguard their belongings and have their own space, restoring dignity and privacy often lost when living in encampments or shelters.

A Viable Alternative to Tent Encampments: Unlike tent encampments, which leave individuals exposed to harsh weather, unsafe conditions, and a lack of resources, pallet shelters provide a stable and protected environment. These units not only offer physical protection but also allow people to connect with support services and rebuild their lives—without the displacement, policing, or the instability often experienced in encampments.

Comprehensive Support Access: These shelters are more than just a roof—they are part of a larger framework designed to support residents through their journey. Pallet shelters provide easy access to critical services such as healthcare, mental health, addiction recovery, social services, and employment support. This integrated system is key to breaking the cycle of homelessness and facilitating a successful transition to permanent housing.

Sustainable and Scalable Solution: The modular and portable design of pallet shelters makes them scalable, allowing us to expand and relocate as needed. Their ability to be quickly assembled and moved makes them an adaptable solution, especially in response to the fluctuating demand for housing. Additionally, they are designed to be low maintenance, offering an environmentally friendly and long-lasting option for housing that can meet the needs of a growing population.

Cost-Effective and Durable: The cost-effectiveness of pallet shelters, paired with their durable material design, makes them a sustainable investment in addressing homelessness. Each unit can be constructed quickly and efficiently, ensuring that funds are used effectively to help as many people as possible.

Public Clean-Up and Safety: By providing a structured and secure environment, pallet shelters offer an alternative to unsanctioned encampments, helping to reduce the visibility of homelessness in public spaces. This contributes to a cleaner, safer, and more organized community, providing both residents and the surrounding community a sense of order and security.

In an era where access to affordable housing is critical, pallet shelters offer an immediate, dignified, and practical solution to provide stability and support to those in need. They bridge the gap between emergency shelter and permanent housing while fostering hope and a pathway to recovery for those who have experienced the most difficult of circumstances.

How shelter villages reduce crime?

In data collected from 2020 to present in the surrounding neighborhoods of eight different Pallet shelter villages in Los Angeles, a significant reduction in crime rates shows how secure shelter and supportive services play positive roles in building community. While rates of crime committed by unsheltered suspects rose citywide by an average of 19.4%, they dropped by an average of 24.9% within a quarter mile of each site. In one such instance, the rate dropped a drastic 63.8%.

We saw a similar story play out at a Safe Stay Pallet shelter village in Vancouver, Washington. In the year after the village opened, crime in the neighborhood dropped substantially, with a 29% reduction in calls and officer-initiated visits compared to the same period the previous year.

Fewer incidents of criminal activity were recorded in Denver, too: even as total citywide crime rose 14.3% in 2020-21, in the areas surrounding Safe Outdoor Space (SOS) camps, it dropped 2.8%. What’s more is that the following year, crime around SOS neighborhoods was reduced an additional 14.1%.

Homelessness and crime

While people experiencing homelessness are involved with the criminal legal system at higher rates than the general population, the reasons are complex and often stem from the mere fact that they have nowhere to live. Unhoused people are also many times more likely to be victims of crimes—especially violent crime.

In most places, homelessness itself is a crime. Homeless status offenses—purported crimes of vagrancy, loitering, or trespassing—are unavoidable for people experiencing homelessness, and research shows they lead to more crime because the cycle of arrest and incarceration makes it significantly harder to find housing. Crimes committed by people experiencing homelessness are most often out of desperation to meet basic survival needs. Take away desperation and much of the crime disappears with it.

The solution starts with a safe place to sleep

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