Earlier this week, officials from the City of Vancouver and Clark County met jointly for the first time since the early 2000s to discuss the complex issue of homelessness and its impact on the community.
The purpose of the joint meeting was to share ideas and to collect more information about the growing problem of homelessness, and growing it is. According to Council for the Homeless, the number of people living in a vehicle, trailer or tent locally is up 18 percent compared to last year.
As Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce CEO John McDonagh explained it, the face of homelessness is often seen as addiction, mental illness, the unemployed or a combination of all three. Research has proven that, while these situations exist, a vast majority of homeless simply lack the support system to walk through a major setback and find themselves living in a perpetual state of ‘behind’ or ‘catching up.’
A continued lack of affordable housing is only serving to compound the issue. Nevertheless, officials remain optimistic and resolute in their approach to the issue.
“We’re predicting it will take a decade or more to meet the need (affordable housing) but, in terms of homelessness, I feel there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” said City of Vancouver Councilmember Alishia Topper. “It forces entities to think strategically and out of the box – the faith community, the county, the city.”
Along with the other councilmembers, Topper is pushing the envelope of innovation to leave no stone unturned – including working with the fire marshal to consider changes to building codes that would allow ‘tiny home’ communities and other micro-housing options. The City is investing in bringing experts in for symposiums such as Kol Peterson, co-owner of Caravan – The Tiny House Hotel located in Portland. Peterson specializes in working with local government on zoning, building code requirements and other details of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Changing current constraints would allow detached living spaces suitable for aging parents and disabled children that would lessen the financial strain on families considering a permanent commercial living space.
City Councilmember Anne McEnerny-Ogle is also encouraged by last November’s passing of Proposition 1, which created an Affordable Housing Fund to serve very-low income families and individuals. This voter-approved fund is earmarked to increase Vancouver’s supply of affordable housing, preserve existing homes and prevent homelessness through rental assistance, temporary shelter and services.
“This was a tremendous statement of our community’s values,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
When it comes to the issue of homelessness, downtown business owners walk a line of empathy and frustration. They are often the first to sign on for donations to Share, act as drop-off sites for area food banks and host fundraising events for local nonprofits. Conversely, the business owners we spoke to said they have grown weary of their entry wells being used as temporary shelters, garbage being left outside their businesses and the cleaning up of human waste at their storefronts.
Both McEnerny-Ogle and Topper said they appreciate the position of downtown business owners. Along with their fellow councilmembers, they host regular workshops with businesses to cultivate collaboration and brainstorm solutions.
“Their concerns are definitely heard and we have to consider them when looking at policy and finding balance when taking care of our most vulnerable,” said Topper.
With not enough access to restroom facilities throughout the year, the waste piece is a difficult challenge to meet. McEnerny-Ogle said that the addition of portable toilets and wash stations is being considered at city right-of-way locations in the downtown core.
Another strategy being pursued is a day center which, if approved, will be located across from the Share House at 1115 West 13 Street. Similar in concept to the temporary day center operated by Share and Friends of the Carpenter, this facility would offer a place for homeless to wash up, wash their clothing, receive mail, use the telephone and charge mobile devices, fill out health forms, utilize storage lockers and meet with case workers.
According to McEnerny-Ogle, in the year that the temporary center operated, more than 900 people were serviced.
In addition to the growth of homeless adults living on the streets of Clark County, there are more children struggling for a secure home life. Topper, herself an unaccompanied youth at Battle Ground High School her junior and senior year, said that 2,200 students between the Evergreen and Vancouver school districts are considered unaccompanied youth (a student not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian for multiple reasons).
“We know we have a housing crisis,” said Topper. “We have an uptick in homelessness and the only way to solve it is to work together.”
