I concur with the story indicating it’s difficult to express concerns to the Vancouver City Council — especially at it relates to homelessness (“Residents feel stifled by rules that limit public comments at Vancouver City Council meetings,” The Columbian, Nov. 23).
Currently the city allows encampments in specific areas. The encampment at the wall along Mill Plain Boulevard is one such example. The city would never let this happen along their new waterfront. That’s discrimination against neighborhoods.
The city has a very poor record in regard to homelessness, starting with the Navigation Center, which was a complete disaster. The proposed bridge shelter is full of problems, as well, and demonstrates a lack of collaboration with Clark County (which has social service funding). Instead, they plan to fund this with taxes but it doesn’t guarantee appropriate services for medical and mental health services. Those types of facilities are designated as a medical facility and licensed as such.
The plan is to hire a provider from Portland who has no record with the Washington State Department of Health and Human Services. If the city allowed more feedback, it would likely develop something different.
