Reducing highway camping
The Washington Department of Transportation gave the city of Vancouver special permission to lease the lot at 4611 Main St., which is the department’s property.
The department often clears camps, which are illegal on its property. Inslee said WSDOT has cleared 30 encampments along highways, moving more than 1,000 people “into a more secure situation.”
Carley Francis, regional administrator for the department’s Southwest Region, said working with the city to open the Safe Stay is a way for the department to contribute to alleviating homelessness that often occurs on its property.
“We end up at the very end of navigating folks who are experiencing terrible situations in their lives,” she said. “And that’s not fun for any of my staff who have to do that, so this offers us a positive opportunity to contribute.”
Many of the Safe Stay community’s future residents will be from camps located on nearby WSDOT property along the freeway, according to the city’s homeless response manager, Jamie Spinelli.
“Folks are really recognizing that we have to have so many different ways to approach and help people to try to navigate out of spaces they probably never expected to be in,” Francis said.
Do Good in Vancouver
Although Do Good Multnomah primarily operates in Clackamas and Multnomah counties in Oregon, the organization has expanded into Vancouver by running the fourth Safe Stay.
The community is not far from home for CEO Daniel Hovanas, who has lived in Vancouver since age 4. He said he used to play soccer on the field at Discovery Middle School, which is visible from the edge of the Safe Stay.
“It’s a cool opportunity for me to merge the city that I love and the work that I love doing,” Hovanas said.
Unlike the other Safe Stays, this one doesn’t have a name yet. Hovanas wants the residents to choose one together when they move in.
He hopes staff will be able to build trust with people living in the Safe Stay to help connect them with the resources they need.
“That trust is so key for folks to do case management and to get folks into permanent housing,” he said. “That is what we’re working on here, to stabilize, build the necessary skills and eliminate whatever barriers they may have.”
Inslee’s visit
When Inslee visited Vancouver a few months ago, a man welcomed him into his “palace,” an 8-by-8-foot tiny home, Inslee said. It’s small, but it had saved his life, the man told him.
“We’re going to see that story replicated 40 times right here at Safe Stay four,” Inslee said.
The Safe Stays’ heated pallet shelters will provide a safe place for people to escape the cold. Winter officially starts Thursday.
“This is the perfect time to invite 40 individuals to come in out of the elements and start that journey,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
