If it were easy, everybody would do it. But solving homelessness in Vancouver is a complex issue that defies simple solutions. Meanwhile, the city deals with the concerns about sanitation and livability that inevitably accompany a growing homeless population.
This year’s annual Point in Time count determined that the number of people living without shelter in Clark County had reached 374, an increase of 39 percent over the previous year. The count, which is merely a snapshot of a lingering issue, was taken in January and released in June, and it confirmed what observers throughout the region had suspected.
Predictably, the latest counts in Washington’s King County and Oregon’s Multnomah County — home to each state’s largest city — reveal much larger per-capita homeless populations. And while the problem in those and other metropolitan areas are on a larger scale than in Vancouver, the underlying concerns are not all that different. Neither are various approaches to dealing with the issue.
“That’s the question of the century,” Vancouver city Councilor Alishia Topper told Lou Brancaccio, editor emeritus of The Columbian, in August. “I think there’s an answer to help mitigate and decrease the number of homeless. I think we will always have individuals who are seeking shelter.”
Boiling it down to simplistic language, the issue is this: How do cities balance the rights and the needs of homeless people with keeping a city livable for the majority of its residents? The impact can be seen in downtown Vancouver, in Hazel Dell, beneath underpasses throughout the region and elsewhere. Congregations of homeless people send an uninviting message to residents, businesses and visitors.
But telling people to pack up their belongings and move elsewhere does not solve the problem; it simply transfers it to somebody else. It also does nothing to deal with the underlying causes of homelessness, which can range from a lack of affordable housing to mental-health issues to substance abuse.
That was the gist of a recent lengthy story in The Seattle Times, which examined San Francisco’s approach to the issue in search of solutions that can be applied to Seattle. San Francisco officials have been aggressive in clearing out homeless encampments, and Mayor London Breed said: “Yes, we’re going to be compassionate and we’re going to offer support and help. But no, we’re not going to let you erect a tent on the sidewalk and keep it there.”
Vancouver has taken an intermittent approach to clearing homeless camps, most frequently near Share House close to the downtown core. But the encampments return almost as quickly as they are removed, and it can be argued whether clearing homeless camps is the best use of law enforcement. A city ordinance allows camping on city property, but tents must be removed by early morning.
Vancouver residents have demonstrated their willingness to help by passing a property-tax levy earmarked for affordable housing, but that represents only one necessary tool. Leaders at the state level also must focus on treatment for mental health and substance abuse, recognizing the role that will play in helping to curb homelessness.
Meanwhile, city officials must understand that while compassion for those in need is necessary, so are efforts to maintain the city’s livability for all residents — particularly those living near areas that frequently draw encampments.
Of course, that is easier to say than to do. If accomplishing it were easy, all cities would do it.
