Changes in and around Vancouver’s Navigation Center are clearly necessary. As a progress report to the city council last week indicated, the facility that provides services for homeless people is overrun by issues that diminish the effectiveness of those services and negatively impact nearby residents.
In pondering the future of the center, which opened in November along Grand Boulevard near Fourth Plain Boulevard, a couple of priorities must take precedent: The concerns of local residents, particularly regarding increased crime; adequate staff and security for assisting a larger-than-expected clientele; and urgency in addressing the issues.
The day center offers food, laundry, showers and case management for the local homeless population. By one measure, it has been a clear success — officials hoped to serve at least 300 people in the first year of operation, but they saw 1,412 clients during the first six months. That points out the need for keeping the Navigation Center but also illuminates the problems.
“I’m so frustrated that I’m almost to the point where, do we want to continue functioning and operating this day center?” councilor Linda Glover asked. “I think we need to make these changes, but they need to be made quickly. But if they can’t be made quickly, I don’t think we should continue operating.”
The frustration is understandable, echoing that of nearby residents. But while closing the center might ease the pressure on the immediate area, it would simply prevent homeless people from receiving needed services, not make them go away. As Amy Reynolds, deputy director of Share, which runs the center, said, “All of these help to maintain a person’s dignity and a sense of normalcy.”
Such compassion is necessary. But in operating the center, officials should view it from the perspective of the neighbors. What level of security and engagement would a homeowner down the block from the center desire with an increase of homeless people coming to the area?
Vancouver Police Chief James McElvain told the city council that police calls within a quarter-mile radius of the Navigation Center increased 131 percent over a similar period the previous year. And local residents and business owners have provided anecdotal evidence of increased drug activity, fights, harassment and other issues.
Dealing with that quickly must be a focus for city officials. Regarding the report from Reynolds, McElvain and economic development director Chad Eiken, councilor Ty Stober said, “I hear a lot of, ‘thinking about,’ ‘looking at,’ ‘considering’ — I don’t understand why, at this point, we don’t have any concrete plans.”
Increasing staff at the center or police presence in the surrounding neighborhood will cost money. But the cost of allowing problems to fester is even greater. If the center is closed or troublesome clients are prohibited, those problems will simply be transferred to other parts of the city. While one school of thought says that providing services attracts homeless people to the area, the truth is that services do not create or increase homelessness; they simply deal with a pressing problem that requires investment from the community.
City councilors are considering hiring a third party to examine the issue. Instead, staff should devise concrete proposals and councilors should use their expertise to solve problems. Balancing the needs of the homeless population and the needs of residents near the Navigation Center is the kind of thing councilors were elected to do.
