“Every inch of it was designed for the families
they were going to serve,” Schoettler said.
The nonprofit takes up half of a glass-encased
building, with workers in the company’s cloud
computing unit on the other end. It opened in
March just as the pandemic shuttered public life
in Seattle.
Outside is now an eerily quiet, perfectly
manicured tech campus that normally bustles
with workers and food trucks.
Inside, families get private 175-square-foot
(16-square-meter) rooms with bunk beds.
They wear masks, get temperature checks and
practice socially distancing in shared spaces,
including the cafeteria, outdoor patio, kids
playroom and laundry room. There’s a starkly
“Amazonia” aesthetic throughout: exposed
pipes, citrus-colored walls popping against
concrete floors, even signs inscribed in the tech
giant’s signature office font.
Two floors are reserved for families dealing with
debilitating health issues, many of them with
compromised immune systems from chronic
illnesses or chemotherapy. Though bathrooms
are shared, families have private sinks for
medical needs such as feeding tubes.
A different program at the shelter also takes in
homeless mothers with newborns, including
prematurely born babies, for whom the
bathtubs — a rarity in homeless shelters — are
especially appreciated.
Experts with the National Alliance to End
Homelessness and the National Health Care for
the Homeless Council said the Popsicle Place
program is a model they haven’t seen before.