New homeless day center site pitched for Vancouver

A day center for the homeless in west Vancouver that had planned to offer showers, bathrooms and laundry facilities might move. Thursday, city and housing officials proposed an alternate location.

The day center is housed in a 1,200-square-foot warehouse space at Friends of the Carpenter. The owners of two neighboring commercial properties did not agree to an easement that would have allowed the center to legally tap into the sewer, city official Peggy Sheehan said.

No agreement means no showers, no indoor toilets and no laundry.

Friends of the Carpenter was also grappling with increased truck traffic that made it more dangerous for people walking to and from the building, said Sheehan, community and economic development program manager at the city of Vancouver.

And, C-Tran is removing a bus stop in front of Friends of the Carpenter, which is at 1600 W. 20th St.

Needing another — and more permanent — solution, the city mulled some ideas. Building a day center on an empty slice of land adjacent to Lincoln Place, a housing complex for the chronically homeless, is the best and cheapest option, Sheehan said. The land is owned by the Vancouver Housing Authority and leased to Share, the nonprofit operating Lincoln Place, the day center and homeless shelters around Clark County.

Sheehan and Chad Eiken, community and economic development director, approached VHA’s board of directors on Thursday with an idea — and a looming deadline.

Washington state gives out capital facilities grants every two years, and the next deadline is Monday, Sheehan said. The city could apply to get funding to build a day center, but the city has to tell the state where this day center would be built.

VHA’s board of directors voted to submit a letter of intent, saying that the housing authority would lease the land, and the day center could be built there, so long as funding comes through. Sheehan estimated it would cost $700,000.

“All we have are estimates, willing partners, a need and an idea,” she said.

The fenced-off plot of land is next to the 30-unit complex and behind an enclosed bike shelter. It could fit about a 3,000-square-foot center, Sheehan said. While the original plans for Lincoln Place called for a day center, the funding didn’t pencil out.

The day center opened in December, and about 40 people visit it daily. It’s a place for people to get out of the elements, pick up their mail, use one of the portable toilets, charge electronics, store belongings, use computers, apply for identification cards and sign up for social services. About $280,000 annually was budgeted for the center, which is funded through June.

When downtown Vancouver’s homeless need to wash clothes or take showers, they can sign up to take turns bathing and doing laundry at Share House, the homeless shelter at 1115 W. 13th St. There’s no guarantee they’ll get a slot that day. Otherwise, Laundry Love, at 2101 St. Johns Blvd., allows people to wash two loads of laundry for free from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays. But its 2 1/2 -mile distance for those walking from downtown can be daunting.

The city considered alternative day center locations that were discussed at VHA’s meeting. There’s a vacant plot of land off Markel Avenue that the city owns, but it would be expensive and time-consuming to build on the lot, which is better suited for housing, Sheehan said. Although Fire Station 1 at 900 W. Evergreen Blvd. will be vacated after a new fire station is built, it won’t be available until at least late 2017. The city is considering converting the fire station into a homeless shelter; it already has kitchen facilities and bedrooms.

VHA board Commissioner Greg Kimsey moved to have VHA’s executive director, Roy Johnson, submit a letter to the city expressing its support of reusing the fire station to serve the homeless. However, many people have already expressed interest in developing the property, Eiken said.

“The city understands that it has a role to play in the homeless situation. And we don’t have a pile of cash sitting around, so what can we bring to the table? This is an obvious one,” Eiken said.