WHO shelters do their part for homeless in winter

Historical data suggest fewer people are using WHO. The Council for the Homeless says it means people are having a harder time getting out of homelessness and are using emergency shelter services, such as WHO, for longer. Executive director Andy Silver said it all results in fewer people being served and more people having to live outside.

“People are staying at the WHO longer because it’s harder for us to get them into housing,” Silver said. Whether it’s bed nights or clients, he said data generated by the winter shelter program don’t reflect the county’s growing homeless population.

“There’s only a certain number of people who can use the WHO,” Whitley said.

Up to 50 people can stay at St. Andrew, and up to 25 can stay at St. Paul.

St. Andrew had to reduce its capacity for part of the season, said the Rev. Jim Stender. That number was cut from 50 to 42 at the start to accommodate new staff.

Still, Stender said, the program was a “huge success” considering how the mostly volunteer-run program has grown since its start in November 2003, when there were 76 bed nights for the season. Back then, there were many nights with just one or two guests, said Amy Reynolds, deputy director of Share, the nonprofit operating shelters in Clark County.

WHO started as a stopgap for the homeless that its creators thought wouldn’t be needed in five years. They thought homeless people would soon be able to move into permanent housing and existing shelters would suffice, but that never happened, Reynolds said.

Instead, she said, the county is having an affordable housing crisis and needs more permanent shelters. Share, the Council for the Homeless and other agencies are in an early stage of planning additional shelter space. Reynolds said they’re determining how many beds are needed, and from there deciding how to budget for them, and what model would best help those in need.

Silver said an outside research group is looking at what’s needed for families, children, couples and single people.

Touching lives

The St. Paul men’s shelter in downtown Vancouver went pretty smoothly this season, said Geri Hiller, a volunteer and church staff member. The only major hiccup was scrambling to fill volunteer vacancies.

“You know in your heart you’re doing the right thing when you affect so many people in a positive way,” Hiller said. “It’s amazing the number of lives we touch with WHO.”

When the food bank FISH of Vancouver moved out of the church’s former Sunday school building in November, that opened up three rooms. One turned into an unofficial “puzzle room,” where those who weren’t interested in watching television in the main recreation room could do puzzles, Hiller said. Some completed puzzles were hung on the wall. Volunteers also donated totes, so clients could store their belongings.

Even with more room, Hiller isn’t sure they can accommodate more than 25 people a night in a building with one bathroom and one shower. The space was recently transformed into a temporary overnight shelter for 12 homeless women that’s operated by Share employees. Room dividers were set up for privacy, and one of the rooms where men slept became an office. The women’s shelter will run until WHO starts up again.