Unregulated encampments are a blight on Vancouver, posing environmental and safety hazards for people who live in them and diminishing the quality of life for all of the city’s residents. While it is likely that most community members agree with that assessment, forging consensus on solutions is more problematic.
The latest proposal — a series of supported, regulated campsites for our unhoused neighbors — is worth pursuing. Doing nothing is not an option as the homeless population increases, a fact that calls for bold and innovative action by city officials.
City council members last week indicated support for the proposal, which would create up to three managed campsites serving up to 40 people apiece by the end of this year. The fenced sites would provide sanitation and hygiene services such as showers and laundries, along with access to social service providers.
“The supportive campsites will not solve homelessness in our city,” said Jamie Spinelli, the city’s homeless response coordinator. “But they will help address humanitarian needs and the urgent safety, livability, ecological, social justice and public health concerns resulting from this crisis, including an increase in adverse mental, behavioral and physical health symptoms among those living unsheltered.”
Notably, the proposal would prohibit camping within 1,000 feet of a supportive campsite, preventing squatters who wish to take advantage of amenities without the constrictions of a regulated area.
Now comes the difficult part: identifying locations for the campsites. At a workshop, council members indicated support for guidelines that would “disperse supportive campsites equitably throughout the city” and “avoid areas with heightened economic vulnerability.” The proposal also would give preference to sites within a half-mile of public transit. Thoughtfully siting these facilities and working with local residents will be essential to the program.
Still, any proposed location is likely to be met with opposition by those residents. As city officials learned with the now-defunct Navigation Center, a concentrated homeless population can pose sanitation, noise and criminal activity issues. For those who argue that humanitarian considerations must take precedence at the expense of existing neighborhoods, we ask them to consider whether they would want a secure campsite near their homes or their children’s schools.
But for those who support the idea of campsites as long as they are somebody else’s problem, we ask them to consider the alternative: unregulated encampments that have little or no oversight. Nearly every section of Vancouver has felt the impact of such camps, and the problem is growing.
If approved, the regulated campsites must be only one part of a multi-pronged approach. Mental health issues and substance abuse often contribute to homelessness, and efforts to shore up those services must continue. So must efforts to increase affordable housing throughout the region.
A drive through nearly any part of Vancouver — or other areas throughout Clark County — quickly reveals the scope of the problem. Homeless people are living in undignified conditions that create biohazards and diminish the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods. The reasons for that are numerous, and the experience of Portland indicates that the issue will not solve itself.
Action is required, and it must clean up filthy areas while providing compassionate services for unhoused people. Regulated campsites can help us deal with a persistent and vexing problem.