Smart Shelters, Safe Shelters or Safe Space Shelters
Since Helene, people are staying with friends or family or in campers or tents. Some people have found rentals, but they were already in short supply even before the storm and landslides damaged “an estimated 126,000 homes” in western North Carolina.*
FEMA has been paying for “rent, temporary hotel or motel stays” and reimbursing “out-of-pocket hotel costs.”
Direct temporary housing solutions are tailored to meet each households’ individual needs and will take time. This assistance is not intended as an immediate solution for a survivor’s shorter-term housing needs.
FEMA Supporting Helene Survivors with Temporary Sheltering and Housing Solutions
FEMA will be providing Transportable Temporary Housing Units (TTHUs). “A travel trailer or Manufactured Housing Unit (MHU) that FEMA may place on a private site or in a commercial park.”
Until then, local companies have been stepping up with some temporary solutions. Last night WLOS, our local news followed up reports on the damage in Swannanoa 10 miles east of Asheville, between Asheville and Black Mountain. The report included an interview with Mike Stewart, the owner of Pine View Buildings. He had a business selling sheds on the side of Highway 70 in Swannanoa where 27 feet of water caused unbelievable damage.
The report mentions a Smart Shelter.
The new buildings on his Pine View Building’s lot, include a Smart Shelter, wired with electricity. If local ordinances permit, Mike has non-profits at the ready, to put furnished units in backyards giving homeowners shelter as they rebuild.
Pine View Buildings’ Facebook page calls this a Safe Shelter. Other reports call it a Safe Space Shelter. These are 12×12 sheds, insulated and finished inside with power and a loft.
They can plug in to another house, a generator or a temporary power pole. It has windows, lights and a door you can lock.
Even if you are staying with friends or family, this will give you space and some privacy. It’s way better than a tent behind your damaged house.
Introducing Safe Shelters
Designed with Displaced Families in Mind
- Outdoor light and recessed Lighting with dimmers for added comfort
- Lockable house doors and insulated windows for extra security, lighting and warmth
- 8-foot walls and LP Smart Siding with tongue-and-groove pine interiors
- Insulated and Fully Wired for Backyard extension heat, lights, outdoor lighting
- Lofted and single prototypes available
Designed for small families of 2 to 4, 2 person households or individuals- No permit required for sheds under 12×12 in most counties
Pine View Buildings Swannanoa Safe Shelters for Displaced Families
Lofted Unit: Great for small families, 2-4 People, priced at $10,800 + tax (nonprofits are tax-exempt)
Single Unit: Perfect for 1-2 person households, priced at $8,600 + tax (nonprofits are tax-exempt)
Nonprofits are giving away several units—stop by to learn how to apply for these opportunities!
Turnaround time for all units is about 2 weeks.
Delivery is included.
Tongue-and-groove pine interior
Pine View Buildings Swannanoa Safe Shelters for Displaced Families
Here is the post from Pine View Buildings:
Kristen Hicks posted a video walk-through.
And Paul Clark created a video including some the damage, tents people are staying in and the little building being transported and set up to help a family.
What is FEMA providing?
FEMA will be delivering campers, park models and small modular homes. They are working with local and state governments to have the infrastructure to set them up. The biggest hold up will be water, sewer and electric and accessible roads to deliver housing.
This is a big big project. It is going to take a long time and a lot of alternatives.
Direct Temporary Housing Assistance (DTHA)
At the request of the state of North Carolina, FEMA has authorized DTHA for Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties. Due to a shortage of available housing caused by the disaster, this assistance is offered as an interim solution for survivors’ permanent housing needs.
- Sites that might be large enough to fit FEMA TTHUs. FEMA’s units range from travel trailers (8.5’ wide and 25’ long or longer) to Manufactured Housing Units (14’ wide and 40’ to 75’ long depending on number of bedrooms);
- Sites that are accessible by road; and
- Sites that ideally already have water, sewer and electric or are ready to have water, sewer and electric installed.
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