Public Meeting
What: Homeless action plan workshop.
Where: Public Service Center, sixth floor, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver.
When: 9 a.m. Wednesday.
More information: To read the proposed Clark County Homeless Action plan update, visit www.clark.wa.gov/community-action, and click on “Documents.”
Clark County is considering changing its approach to homelessness in a way officials say will give the county and its partner organizations better tools to target the area’s most at-risk populations.
The Clark County council will go through a workshop at 9 a.m. Wednesday highlighting the key components of the newly overhauled homeless plan, which provides a road map for the county and its partner organizations on what kinds of programs to develop and how to fund them. The council will have to approve the plan at a later council meeting.
The biggest change is a focus on specific homeless populations — families with children, the chronically homeless and unaccompanied youth — that are generally considered to be more at risk, said Peter Munroe, manager of Clark County’s Community Development Block Grant program.
Public Meeting
What: Homeless action plan workshop.
Where: Public Service Center, sixth floor, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver.
When: 9 a.m. Wednesday.
More information: To read the proposed Clark County Homeless Action plan update, visit <a href="http://www.clark.wa.gov/community-action">www.clark.wa.gov/community-action</a>, and click on "Documents."
According to last year’s one-day homeless count, there were 217 people living outside in Clark County, and another 227 people living in emergency shelters. Of those living outside, 64 were under the age of 18. There are also 358 households that are homeless and waiting for assistance, including 124 families with children.
“We’ve addressed these groups before, but we’re calling them out specifically to try to reduce homelessness,” Munroe said.
The plan also looks at what goals it can reach in a three-year time frame as opposed to the lengthier 10-year time frame outlined in previous comprehensive plans. Among the county’s goals, if the update is adopted, are:
• Reducing the number of unaccompanied youth to 25 by 2018.
• Reducing the number of people who are chronically homeless to five by 2018.
• Reducing the average time that families have to wait for housing assistance to one month by 2018.
The more immediate goals are a bonus for Amy Reynolds, director of programs for Share, a nonprofit agency.
“The county looks like they’re looking to be more nimble and respond to immediate needs,” Reynolds said. “We appreciate that.”
Andy Silver, executive director of Council for the Homeless, drafted the updated plan.
The updates will enable the county and its partner organizations to be more responsive to the needs of the homeless.
“What we wanted to do with this plan is identify what steps right now people could engage in to try to respond to that crisis,” Silver said. “Let’s be action oriented. Let’s have short time frames.”
