The 45 small, one-room structures on state-owned land behind the Foxy Lady strip club have been in the works since 2020. Homelessness in Rhode Island has more than doubled over that time.

PROVIDENCE − Between the time Rhode Island nonprofit House of Hope first sought to build a temporary homeless shelter village and the planned opening of "ECHO Village" in Providence Wednesday, similar tiny-home "Pallet" shelters have popped up all across the country.

Rhode Island’s first pallet shelter community officially opened Tuesday morning. A grand opening ceremony was held at ECHO Village, located on Victor Street. State and local leaders gave remarks and then toured one of the units.

House of Hope, RIDOH and the City of Providence have collaborated on the ECHO Village project for several years. The shelter was supposed to open by March 2024, but faced a number of delays due to supply chain issues and challenges with permitting.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — After much anticipation Echo Village will be opening next Tuesday. The 45 pallet shelters have been delayed for months and was originally slated to open last year. The delay has sparked criticism from homeless advocates to Governor Dan McKee and other state officials.

The grand opening of 45 tiny cabins to provide housing for people with nowhere else to go assembled off Route 146 in Providence is finally coming — and at $1.3 million over budget. Nearly a year after the state’s first community of temporary pallet shelters for people experiencing homelessness were constructed,