Portable Homeless Shelters
In 1999 Mike built portable homeless shelters for Seattle area tent cities that were sanctioned and facilitated by local non-profit organizations. Mike’s first 2 shelters were built from only recycled materials, salvaged pallet wood, cardboard and other “trash”, as a scale-able example to build more. Though Mike didn’t anticipate the shear weight of the pallet wood’s density, these first 2 shelters - nicknamed “The Dog House” and “The White House” by tent city residents - were used at rotating sites for over 10 years. Only with the help of Mike’s father, Harry Leavitt, and his volunteer recycle truck, was it possible to keep these is a regular monthly rotation.
Also unanticipated was the virtue of security provided by the solid structure. Residents could sit watch under a hard roof in a secure location overnight, or safely store a few goods with a lock-able door, far safer than zipping up a nylon tent. One tent city resident was filmed by a local TV news crew on the first evening that Mike delivered the shelters to the tent city. Tent city inhabitants repaired these structures until Mike and Harry dismantled and replaced them with Mike’s newer, lighter, easier-to-move shelter.