The Vancouver Housing Authority is trying to figure out where it fits in the ever-evolving local housing landscape.
Rents are high. Available land for building is scarce. About nine people move to Vancouver every day. The number of people living on the streets is growing. For many local families, the ability to buy a home is slipping away.
So what, then, is the housing authority’s primary mission? Board commissioners and staff discussed that during a work session Thursday.
“We want to make sure we’re on the course everyone wants us to be on,” said Executive Director Roy Johnson.
Currently, the housing authority’s mission is “to provide opportunities to people who experience barriers to housing because of income, disability, or special needs in an environment that preserves personal dignity, and in a manner that maintains the public trust.” What does it mean to “provide opportunities?” And how should the housing authority define “barriers to housing” or even just “housing?”
The work session stemmed in part from a debate the board had in December over whether it was within the housing authority’s purview to build townhouses and sell them to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to buy a house.
Commissioner Greg Kimsey is not supportive of the housing authority dedicating resources to building and selling townhouses for homeowners. He said the agency should focus on vulnerable people who are struggling to secure rental housing.
“I believe housing is a continuum,” said Joan Caley, board vice chair. “My definition includes homeownership, not just shelter for people who’ve been homeless.”
Kimsey pointed out Habitat for Humanity has done a good job of focusing solely on helping low-income families become homeowners. Organizations are most successful when their mission is narrowly focused, he said.
A handful of people currently participate in a little-known program where Vancouver Housing Authority helps pay their mortgages.
The housing authority is looking into whether other similarly-operated Moving to Work housing authorities provide homeownership programs. Vancouver Housing Authority participates in the Moving to Work demonstration program, which gives it more flexibility in terms of federal polices and in how federal funds are spent.
Housing access, resident services, portfolio management, fiscal stability and operations are the housing authority’s main tenets.
When it comes to solving the issues of homelessness and intergenerational poverty, housing access plays one part; education, social services and health also play a role.
“Which part of the total package are we going to participate in?” said Art Miles, board chair.
The housing authority has increasingly sought partnerships that align housing access with other services. For instance, the Bridgeview Education and Employment Resource Center is under construction in the middle of the housing authority’s Skyline Crest neighborhood and it is adjacent to a Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington clubhouse.
Johnson said he often makes the “but for” argument. But for the housing authority intervening will it get done? For instance, the housing authority owns and maintains homeless shelters, but some argue that shouldn’t be part of its mission.
City Manager Eric Holmes, who attended the first part of Thursday’s work session, said the housing authority, which has been around since 1942, has played a “significant role in the trajectory of Vancouver.” For instance, the housing authority was instrumental in designing and constructing houses in the Vancouver Heights area, and will continue to have a role in shaping central Vancouver as the former Tower Mall area is developed.
