CAMAS – Merchants in downtown Camas say they’ve noticed an increase in homelessness in the city throughout the last month, and they held a community meeting Thursday night to discuss the issue.
Around 35 people crowded into the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce office to talk about their experiences and how to help. Some said they’ve had people they assume are homeless steal from their business or antagonize patrons; others wanted to know what services are available and how to direct people to them.
“These are your neighbors,” Melissa Baker, director of Housing Solutions Center for the Council for the Homeless, said at the meeting. “They don’t want to steal showers. They want to fulfill basic needs.”
Carrie Schulstad, executive director of the Downtown Camas Association, said the meeting was the first of its kind and expects there will be more.
“What a future official group or task force will look like is yet to be determined, but from what we heard (Thursday), the need is there,” she said.
The first meeting was mostly to gather information, which the merchants did from Baker and the Rev. Robert Barber with St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Washougal, who is also chair of Refuel Washougal, which puts on a free meal every Friday evening at the community center. The church helped open a severe weather shelter in Washougal this winter.
Baker told the residents that more and more people are living on the streets due to skyrocketing housing and rental prices, including an increase in seniors on fixed incomes who can’t afford rising prices. She also said the cold in winter causes people to leave more wooded areas to try and find warmth. She made sure to tell the group that people aren’t being sent to Camas or usually seeking out the city.
“They are not commuting here,” she said. “They’re from east county. If anything, people would probably want to leave here to go to Vancouver, where there are more services.”
The group talked about what services are available already, such as the council’s own hotline, 360-695-9677, or the coordinated outreach line at 360-723-5054. They talked about the Lois Smith’s Pocket Guide, which is a tear-proof, water-proof, pocket-sized booklet listing resources available to those who need them. Smith, a local nonprofit consultant, created the guide with a few other volunteer advocates. Barber said he’d like to get an east county version made up to hand out.
“Arm yourself with resources,” Baker said. “They’re going to want to go where they know it’s OK.”
Baker and Barber also talked about setting boundaries. A few merchants said they wanted to help, but weren’t sure where to draw a line.
“If the boundary is vague, they’re going to test the boundary,” Barber said.
Baker told merchants it’s okay to give someone a cup of coffee or some food one day, but not another if it’s not possible that day. One woman at the meeting told a story about an elderly woman sitting in her restaurant for four-plus hours and asking to be walked to her car, only for the merchant to realize the elderly woman was living in her car. Baker said residents should only help up to where they feel safe.
Camas Police Chief Mitch Lackey said there are about 10-15 people in Camas the department is aware of and get calls about living on the streets in the city. Some residents were dismayed about a serial dine-and-dasher who has hit numerous businesses in Camas. Lackey said he had been arrested two to five times in the last month, but due to overcrowding in the jail, someone coming in for a misdemeanor non-violent crime is going to be booked and released until trial.
Others at the meeting started talking about what sort of services they can bring to Camas, such as regular free meals for those in need. One resident said he previously lived in Shelton, where a church got sponsors to purchase eight porta-potties to place around town for the homeless.
Barber said cities can work together to provide even more services to their neighbors in need.
“The partnerships starting to develop are wonderful for our community,” he said. “We are east county. We are family. The resources we’re developing for one (city) are for both.”
