Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Kalamazoo series.

A progressive plan to develop winter-worthy housing for Kalamazoo’s homeless has been left in the cold by the nationwide slowdown in shipments of manufactured goods and products.
 
Housing Resources Inc., which coordinates emergency help for people facing homelessness or a housing crisis, announced this week that manufacturing and supply chain issues continue to delay the delivery of the housing pods. So there will be no modular option for the homeless this winter.
 
"We recognize the Kzoo POD Community: A Place of Dignity can't become a reality this winter,” says Michelle Davis, executive director of Housing Resources Inc. And she says HRI remains energized and committed to the project.
 
HRI announced plans in October to develop a community of small, warm, and weather-resistant modular housing pods (many of which were to be 8’ by 8’ by 8’ enclosures) to provide sturdy housing for people who have been living outdoors in harsh and often unsafe conditions. It hoped to have things in place before the worst of winter set in. In December the nonprofit, a United Way partner agency, announced it was planning to try to renovate and reutilize the property at 322 E. Stockbridge Ave., former location of the Michigan Department of Human Services.
 
HRI planned to lease the space after spending about $1 million to purchase 50 modular housing pods, called ModPods, from an Oregon company. Those units were to be delivered to Kalamazoo starting in late November. 
 
Davis announced this week that manufacturing and supply chain issues continue to delay the delivery of the pods. A slowdown in the shipping of building materials and other goods to ports on the West Coast of the United States have caused a logjam in the delivery of products of all kinds, according to national news reports.
 
A view of the insiode of a POD.To address some of the needs the POD community was intended to help solve here, Davis says local human service agencies have redoubled their efforts to provide assistance to people without homes and provide emergency housing in Kalamazoo County.
 
"Our public, private, and nonprofit partners have done a tremendous job of maximizing their ability to provide shelter, food, and safety at a time when the need far exceeds the housing resources available,” Davis says in a prepared statement.
 
She says the Stockbridge Avenue site that was to be the home of the proposed pod community is also no longer being considered. Environmental and cost considerations have project partners looking for alternatives for the future.
 
A view of the outside of a POD.Members of the community have been increasingly vocal in their concerns about the plight of the unhoused since the city, working through the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, disbanded an encampment of about 100 houseless people who were living in tents, boxes, and makeshift hovels near the Kalamazoo River in downtown Kalamazoo and another on the west side of the city, off Stadium Drive.
 
One group of volunteers, the Kalamazoo Coalition for the Homeless has been working with the Salvation Army on South Burdick Street to provide warming shelter facilities to help the unhoused beat the winter cold.
 
With plans to find an alternate site, Davis says, "We remain committed to the pilot pod project. It's a strategy that fits well within our overall mission, strategic plan, and the needs of people who are unsheltered."
 
The response to homelessness and housing crises includes the work of a comprehensive network of individuals and organizations that provide help on a daily basis. Community members in need of help may access it by dialing 2-1-1 or contacting HRI at 269-382-0287 or by visiting their website here.
 
She says HRI continues to seek volunteers and donations to carry out its mission. It suggests those interested in helping can find opportunities here or by supporting the upcoming Walk to End Homelessness on March 19.